THE  PHILOSOPHY 


THE    ¥  I A  T I E  B . 


AND 


A  GUIDE  TO   ITS  CHANGES. 


«*.-£-* 


BY  T.  B.  BUTLER. 

LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UTOSITI  of  OALffOMU, 

LICK  OBSERVATORY. 

NEW    YORK: 
D.    APPLETOX    &    COMPANY, 

NOS.    346    &   348    BROADWAY. 

1856. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1856,  by 

T.    B.    BUTLEK, 
In  the  Clerk'a  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Connecticut. 


ILKOTROTTFSD    BT 
THOMAS   B.    SMITH, 

82  A  84  Beekman  Street. 


FEINTED     BT 
J.   F.  TROW, 

379  Broadway. 


INTRODUCTION. 

THS  atmospheric  conditions  and  phenomena  which  con- 
stitute "  The  Weather"  are  of  surpassing  interest.  Now,  we 
rejoice  in  the  genial  air  and  warm  rains  of  spring,  which 
clothe  the  earth  with  verdure  ;  in  the  alternating  heat  and 
showers  of  summer,  which  insure  the  bountiful  harvest ;  in 
the  milder,  ripening  sunshine  of  autumn ;  or  the  mantle  of 
snow  and  the  invigorating  air  of  a  moderate  winter's-day. 
Now,  again,  we  suffer  from  drenching  rains  and  devastating 
floods,  or  excessive  and  debilitating  heat  and  parching 
drought,  or  sudden  and  unseasonable  frost,  or  extreme  cold* 
And  now,  death  and  destruction  come  upon  us  or  our  prop- 
erty, at  any  season,  in  the  gale,  the  hurricane,  or  the  tor- 
nado ;  or  a  succession  of  sudden  or  peculiar  changes  blight 
our  expected  crops,  and  plant  in  our  systems  the  seeds  of 
epidemic  disease  and  death.  These,  and  other  normal  con- 
ditions, and  varied  changes,  and  violent  extremes,  potent 
for  good  or  evil,  are  continually  alternating  above  and 
around  us.  They  affect  our  health  and  personal  comfort, 
and,  through  those  with  whom  we  are  connected,  our  social 
and  domestic  enjoyments.  They  influence  our  business  pros- 
perity directly,  or  indirectly,  through  our  near  or  remote 
dependence  upon  others.  They  limit  our  pleasures  and 
amusements — they  control  the  realities  of  to-day,  and  the  an- 
ticipations of  to-morrow.  None  can  prudently  disregard  them ; 
few  can  withhold  from  them  a  constant  attention.  Scientific 
men,  and  others,  devote  to  them  daily  hours  of  careful  observa- 

740507 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

tion  and  registration.  Devout  Christians  regard  them  as  the 
special  agencies  of  an  over-ruling  Providence.  The  prudent, 
fear  their  sudden,  or  silent  and  mysterious  changes ;  the 
timid,  their  awful  manifestations  of  power ;  and  they  are, 
to  each  and  all  of  us,  ever  present  objects  of  unfailing 
interest. 

This  interest  finds  constant  expression  in  our  intercourse 
with  each  other.  A  recent  English  writer  has  said :  "  The 
germ  of  meteorology  is,  as  it  were,  innate  in  the  mind  of 
every  Englishman — the  weather  is  his  first  thought  after 
every  salutation."  In  the  qualified  sense  in  which  this  was 
probably  intended,  it  is,  doubtless,  equally  true  of  us.  In- 
deed, it  is  often  not  only  a  "  first  thought"  after  a  salutation, 
but  a  part  of  the  salutation  itself — an  offspring  of  the  same 
friendly  feeling,  or  a  part  of  the  same  habit,  which  dictates 
,the  salutation — an  expression  of  sympathy  in  a  subject  of 
common  and  absorbing  interest — a  sorrowing  or  rejoicing 
with  those  who  sorrow  or  rejoice  in  the  frowns  and  smiles  of 
an  ever-changing,  ever-influential  atmosphere. 

If  consistent  with  our  purpose,  it  would  be  exceedingly 
interesting  to  trace  the  varied  forms  of  expression  in  use 
among  different  classes  and  callings,  and  see  how  indicative 
they  are  of  character  and  employment. 

The  sailor  deals  mainly  with  the  winds  of  the  hour,  and 
to  him  all  the  other  phases  of  the  weather  are  comparatively 
indifferent.  He  speaks  of  airs,  and  breezes,  and  squalls,  and 
gales,  and  hurricanes ;  or  of  such  appearances  of  the  sky  as 
prognosticate  them.  The  citizens,  whose  lives  are  a  succes- 
sion of  days,  deal  in  such  adjectives  as  characterize  the  weath- 
er of  the  day,  according  to  their  class,  or  temperament,  or 
business ;  and  it  is  pleasant,  or  fine,  or  very  pleasant  or  fine  ; 
beautiful,  delightful,  splendid,  or  glorious;  or  unpleasant, 
rainy,  stormy,  dismal,  dreadful  or  horrible.  The  farmer 


INTRODUCTION.  V 

deals  with  the  weather  of  considerable  periods  ;  -with  forward 
or  backward  seasons,  with  "cold  snaps"  or  "hot  spells," 
and  "  wet  spells"  or  "  dry  spells."  And  there  are  many  in- 
termediate varieties.  The  acute  observer  will  find  much  in 
them  to  instruct  and  amuse  him,  and  will  probably  be  sur- 
prised to  find  how  much  they  have  to  do  with  his  "  first 
impressions"  of  others. 

But  I  have  a  more  important  object  in  view.  I  propose 
to  deal  with  "  The  PHILOSOPHY  of  the  Weather" — to  examine 
the  nature  and  operation  of  the  arrangements  from  which 
the  phenomena  result ;  to  strip  the  subject,  if  possible,  of 
some  of  the  complication  and  mystery  in  which  traditionary 
axioms  and  false  theories  continue  to  envelop  it ;  to  endeavor 
to  grasp  its  principles,  and  unfold  them  in  a  plain,  con- 
cise, and  systematic  manner,  to  the  comprehension  of  "  the 
many?  who  are  equal  partners  with  the  scientific  in  its  prac- 
tical, if  not  in  its  philosophic  interest ;  and  to  deduce  a  few 
general  rules  by  which  its  changes  may  be  understood,  and, 
ultimately,  to  a  considerable  extent,  foreseen. 

This  is  not  an  easy,  perhaps  not  a  prudent  undertaking. 
Nor  is  my  position  exactly  that  of  a  volunteer.  A  few 
words  seem  necessary,  therefore,  by  way  of  apology  and 
explanation. 

In  the  fall  of  1853,  in  the  evening  of  a  fair  autumnal  day, 
I  started  for  Hartford,  in  the  express  train.  Just  above 
Meriden,  an  acquaintance  sitting  beside  me,  who  had  been 
felicitating  himself  on  the  prospect  of  fine  weather  for  a 
journey  to  the  north,  called  my  attention  to  several  small 
patches  of  scud — clouds  he  called  them — to  the  eastward  of 
us,  between  us  and  the  full  clear  moon,  which  seemed  to  be 
enlarging  and  traveling  south — and  asked  what  they  meant. 

"  Ah  !"  said  I, "  they  are  scud,  forming  over  the  central  and 
northern  portions  of  Connecticut,  induced  and  attracted  by 


yi  INTRODUCTION. 

the  influence  of  a  storm  which  is  passing  from  the  westward 
to  the  eastward,  over  the  northern  parts  of  New  England, 
and  are  traveling  toward  it  in  a  southerly  surface  wind, 
which  we  have  run  into.  They  seem  to  go  south,  because  wo 
are  running  north  faster  than  they.  You  see  them  at  tho 
eastward  because  they  are  forming  successively  as  the  storm 
and  its  influence  passes  in  that  direction,  and  are  most  readily 
seen  in  the  range  of  the  moon ;  but  when  we  reach  Hartford 
you  will  see  them  in  every  direction,  more  numerous  and 
dense,  running  north  to  underlie  that  storm." 

I  had  seen  such  appearances  too  many  times  to  be  deceived. 
It  was  so.  When  we  arrived  at  Hartford  they  were  visible  in  all 
directions,  running  to  the  northward  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five 
miles  an  hour.  In  the  space  of  forty  minutes  we  had  passed 
from  a  clear,  calm  atmosphere  (and  which  still  remained  so), 
into  a  cloudy,  damp  air,  and  brisk  wind  blowing  in  the 
same  direction  we  were  traveling,  and  toward  a  heavy  storm. 
My  friend  passed  on,  and  met  the  southern  edge  of  the  raiii 
at  Deerfield,  and  had  a  most  unpleasant  journey  during  tho 
forenoon  of  the  next  day.  Taking  the  cars  soon  afterwards,  in 
the  afternoon,  for  the  south,  I  found  him  on  his  return. 

"  Shall  I  have  fair  weather  now  till  I  get  home  ?"  said  he. 

"  There  are  no  indications  of  a  storm  here,  or  at  present," 
I  replied,  "but  we  may  observe  them  elsewhere,  and  at  night- 
fall." 

He  kept  a  sharp  look-out,  and,  as  we  neared  New  Haven, 
discovered  faint  lines  of  cirrus  cloud  low  down  in  the  west, 
extending  in  parallel  bars,  contracting  into  threads,  up  from 
the  western  horizon,  in  an  E.  N.  E.  direction  toward  the  zenith. 

"  Now,  what  is  that  ?"  said  he. 

"  The  eastern  outlying  edge  of  a  N.  E.  storm,  approach- 
ing from  the  W.  S.  W.  It  is  now  raining  from  150  to  200 
miles  to  the  westward  of  the  eastern  extremity  of  those  bars 


INTRODUCTION.  VU 

of  cirrus-condensation ;  perhaps  more,  perhaps  less ;  and 
under  those  bars  of  condensation  the  wind  is  attracted,  and 
is  Wowing  from  the  N.  E.  toward  the  body  of  the  storm, 
and  where  the  condensation  is  sufficiently  dense  to  drop  rain. 
That  dense  portion  will  reach  here,  and  it  will  rain  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  hours  hence.  As  we  pass  along  the  shore, 
and  run  under  that  out-lying  advance  cirrus-condensation, 
we  shall  see  that  the  vessels  in  the  Sound  have  the  wind 
from  the  N.  K.  freshening,  but  we  shall  continue  to  have 
this  light  and  scarcely-perceptible  air  from  the  northward  for 
a  time — the  JV.  E.  wind  always  setting  in  toward  an  ap- 
proaching storm,  out  on  the  Sound,  much  sooner  than  upon, 
the  land.11 

As  we  approached  the  storm,  and  the  storm  us,  the  evidence 
of  denser  condensation  at  the  west,  and  of  wind  from  the  east, 
blowing  toward  it,  became  more  apparent.  The  fore  and  aft 
vessels  were  running  "  up  Sound"  with  "  sheet  out  and  boom 
off,"  before  a  fresh  1ST.  E.  breeze,  and  my  friend  was  astonished. 

"  I  must  understand  this,"  said  he ;  "  how  is  it  ?" 

"  All  very  simple.  The  page  of  nature  spread  out  abovo 
us  is  intelligible  to  him  who  will  attentively  study  it.  The 
laws  which  produce  the  impressions  and  changes  upon  that 
page,  are  few  and  comprehensible.  Although  there  is  great 
variety,  even  upon  the  limited  portion  which  is  bounded 
by  our  horizon,  there  is  also  substantial  uniformity ;  and, 
although  the  changes  are  always  extensive,  often  covering  an 
area  of  one  thousand  miles  or  more,  and  our  vision  can  not 
extend  in  any  direction  more  than  from  thirty  to  fifty,  yet 
those  changes  are  always,  to  a  considerable  extent,  intelligi- 
ble, and  may  often  be  foreseen." 

"  Has  meteorology  made  such  progress  ?" 

"  By  no  means.  It  has,  indeed,  been  raised  to  the  dignity 
of  a  science,  and  professorships  endowed  for  its  advancement. 


Vlii  INTRODUCTION. 

Some  books  have  been  written,  and  many  theories  broached 
in  relation  to  it ;  and  innumerable  observations  of  the  states 
of  the  barometer  and  thermometer,  of  the  clouds,  and  the 
quantity  of  fallen  rain,  and  the  direction  and  force  of  the 
wind — made  and  recorded  simultaneously  in  different  coun- 
tries— have  been  published  and  compared ;  and  a  great  many 
important  facts  established,  and  tables  of '  means'  constructed, 
and  just  inferences  drawn,  yet  the  few  and  simple  arrange- 
ments upon  which  all  the  phenomena  depend,  and  their 
philosophy,  have  not  yet  been  clearly  elicited  or  understood." 

"Have  not  the  'American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science'  arrived  at  some  definite  and  sound  con- 
clusion upon  the  subject  ?" 

"  No  ;  it  has  been  with  them,  for  many  years,  an  interesting 
subject  for  papers  and  debate.  Some  very  valuable  articles, 
upon  particular  topics,  or  branches  of  the  subject,  have  been 
read  and  published.  But  the  Cyclonologists,  as  they  term 
themselves,  and  who  seem  to  think  the  great  question  is,  'Are 
storms  whirlwinds  P  appear  with  new  editions  and  phases  of 
their  favorite  views  as  regularly  as  the  annual  meeting  re- 
curs ;  and,  though  they  have  not  convinced,  they  seem  to 
have  silenced  their  opponents.  The  only  conclusion,  how- 
ever, judging  from  their  debates,  to  which  the  Association 
appear  to  have  come  with  any  considerable  unanimity,  is, 
that  they  are  yet  without  sufficient  authentic  observations 
and  well-established  facts,  to  authorize  the  adoption  of  the 
Huttonian,  Daltonian,  Gyratory,  or  Aspiratory,  or  any  of  the 
other  numerous  theories  which  abound.  And  they  are  right. 
The  subject  is  mystified  by  these  theories  and  speculations 
of  the  study,  founded  on  barometrical  and  thermometrical 
records,  and  the  direction  and  force  of  the  surface  winds. 

"  The  qualities  of  heat  were  among  the  earlier  discoveries 
of  science,  and  all  the  phenomena  of  the  weather  were  forth- 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

-with  attributed  to  its  influence.  Hastily-formed  and  erroneous 
views  of  its  power,  and  the  manner  of  its  action  in  particular 
localities,  and  under  particular  circumstances,  have  retained 
the  credence  accorded  to  them  when  first  announced,  al- 
though subsequent  discoveries  have  shown  their  fallacy, 
some  new  theory  of  modification  having  been  invented  to 
reconcile  the  discrepancies  as  soon  as  they  appeared.  Per- 
haps it  is  not  too  much  to  say  (however  it  may  seem  to  one 
not  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  subject,  who  does  not 
know  that  the  primary  and  secondary  modifying  hypotheses 
found  in  Kamtz,  may  be  counted  by  hundreds)  that  there  is 
not  remaining  in  any  other  science,  and  possibly  in  all  others, 
an  equal  amount  of  false  and  absurd  theory,  and  of  forced 
and  unnatural  grouping  of  admitted  facts  to  sustain  it,  as  in 
meteorology  as  at  present  taught  and  received.  Astronomy, 
as  a  science,  is  almost  perfected — the  nature,  and  size,  and 
orbits,  of  the  distant  worlds  around  us  are  known — while 
constant  changes  and  alternating  atmospheric  conditions, 
which  all  occur  within  less  than  six  miles  of  us,  affecting 
all  our  important  interests,  and  obvious  to  our  senses,  al- 
though much  talked  off^  and  made  the  objects  of  many 
theories,  are  but  little  understood," 

"  How,  then,  did  you  acquire  the  information  you  seem  to 
possess  ?" 

"  By  studying  '  the  countenance  of  the  s&y,'  for  in  no  other 
way  has  such  information  ever  been,  or  can  it  ever  be,  ac- 
quired. By  a  long-continued,  daily,  and  sometimes  hourly 
observation  of  the  clouds  and  currents  of  the  atmosphere, 
in  connection  with  such  reports  of  the  then  state  of  the 
weather  elsewhere,  as  have  fallen  under  my  notice,  and  the 
effect  of  its  changes  upon  the  animal  creation — for  very  much 
can  be  learned  from  them.  Yonder  flock  of  black  ducks  that 
sit  on  that  inshore  rock,  above  the  tide — the  wildest  and 

A 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

most  suspicious  of  all  their  tribe — although  the  air  is  calm 
about  themr  know  well  that  a  storm  is  at  hand.  They  prob- 
ably both  see  and  feel  it.  As  twilight  approaches  they  will 
fly  away  inland,  forty  or  fifty  miles  perhaps,  and  settle  among 
the  lilies  or  grass  which  surround  some  fresh-water  pond, 
certain  of  remaining  while  the  storm  lasts,  and  for  one  day 
at  least,  out  of  danger,  and  undisturbed.  Many  a  time,  in 
-my  boyhood,  have  I  heard,  in  the  stillness  of  evening,  tho 
whistling  of  their  wings,  as  they  swept  up  the  Connecticut 
valley,  to  seek,  on  the  borders  of  the  coves,  and  in  the  creeks 
of  the  meadows,  a  concealed  and  safe  feeding-place  during  a 
coming  storm.  And  many  a  time  in  the  autumn,  after  they 
had  all  passed  down  for  the  season,  when  the  indications  of 
an  approaching  storm  were  clearly  visible  at  nightfall,  have 
I  waited  for  them  to  return,  on  the  eastern  margin  of  a  bend 
in  the  cove,  on  the  eastern  side  of  a  creek,  to  shoot  them, 
though  invisible,  by  shooting  across  the  head  of  the  wake 
which  Nthey  made  upon  the  water  in  alighting,  and  from 
which  the  few  remaining  rays  of  twilight  that  came  from 
the  western  sky  were  reflected. 

"  But  I  am  far  from  being  singular  in  this.  That  page  is 
more  extensively  read  than  is  generally  supposed.  Many 
plain,  unassuming  men — farmers,  shipmasters,  and  others 
within  the  circle  of  my  acquaintance — know  more,  practically, 
of  the  weather  than  the  most  learned  closet-theorist,  or  the 
most  indefatigable  recorder  of  its  changes.  Every  one,  by 
studying  the  page  of  nature  above  him,  as  he  would  the 
page  of  any  other  science,  and  testing,  by  observation,  the 
numerous  theories  invented  to  account  for  the  varied 
phenomena,  may  learn  much,  very  much,  that  will  be  use- 
ful and  interesting  to  him,  and  which  he  can  never  leam 
from  books,  or  instruments,  or  theories  alone." 

"  Well,"  said  my  friend,  "  I  am  too  far  advanced  in  life,  as 


INTRODUCTION.  xi 

are  many  others,  to  commence  such  observations,  and  you 
must  publish." 

I  demurred,  and  he  insisted. 

"  It  is  difficult  to  spare  the  time  ;  and  I  can  not  neglect 
my  profession,"  I  urged. 

"  Where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way,"  he  replied. 

"  It  is  difficult  to  make  one's  self  understood  without  many 
illustrations." 

"  Very  well,  they  are  easily  obtained." 

"  But  they  cost  money,  and  it  is  said  *  science  will  not  pay 
its  way'  like  fiction  and  humbug." 

"That,"  said  he,  "is  a  libel — such  science  will.  Every 
one  is  interested  in  the  weather — all  talk  about  it — and 
thousands  would  carefully  observe  it,  if  they  could  be  cor- 
rectly guided  in  their  observations." 

"  I  may  get  into  unpleasant  controversy." 

"  Suppose  you  do ;  you  can  yield  your  position  if  wrong, 
and  maintain  it  if  right,  and  magna  est  veritas" 

"  But  I  may  be  mistaken  in  some  of  the  views  to  which  it 
will  be  necessary  to  advert,  if  I  attempt  to  systematize  the 
subject." 

"  Be  it  so — your  mistakes  may  lead  others  to  the  discovery 
of  the  truth.  Besides,  the  weather  is  common  property,  and 
every  one  has  a  right  to  theorize  about  it,  or  to  talk  about 
it,  as  they  please — even  to  call  a  stormy  day  a  pleasant  one, 
or  make  any  other  mistaken  remark  concerning  it ;  and 
every  other  person  is  entitled  to  a  like  latitude  of  reply. 
And  further,"  said  he,  with  some  emphasis,  "  no  important 
observation,  in  relation  to  a  subject  of  such  interest,  should 
be  lost ;  and,  if  you  have  observed  one  new  fact,  or  drawn 
one  new  and  just  inference  from  those  which  have  been  ob- 
served by  others ;  and  especially  if,  from  observation  and 
reading,  you  can  deduce  from  the  phenomena  an  intelligible, 


Xll  INTRODUCTION. 

observable,  general  system,  it  is  not  only  your  right,  but 
duty,  to  make  it  known.  Such  a  knowledge  of  the  true 
system  is  greatly  desired  by  every  considerate  man." 

To  my  friend's  last  argument  I  was  compelled  to  yield.  I 
could  make  no  reply  consistent  with  the  great  principles  of 
fraternity,  which  I  shall  ever  recognize.  The  promise  was 
given.  My  friend  went  on  his  way,  and  I  went  to  the 
daguerreotypist  to  procure  a  copy  of  the  then  appearance  of 
the  sky,  as  the  first  step  toward  its  fulfillment.  The  fulfill- 
ment of  that  promise,  reader,  you  will  find  in  the  following 
work.  It  was  commenced  as  an  arti6le  for  a  magazine, 
but  it  has  grown  on  my  hands  to  a  volume.  Justice  could 
not  well  be  done  to  the  subject  in  less  space.  It  has  been 
written  during  occasional  and  distant  intervals  of  relaxation 
from  professional  avocations,  or  during  convalescence  from 
sickness,  and  it  is,  for  these  reasons,  somewhat  imperfect  in 
style  and  arrangement.  But  I  have  no  time  to  rewrite. 
There  is  much  in  it  which  will  be  old  to  those  who  read 
journals  of  science,  but  new  to  those  who  do  not.  There  is 
more  which  will  be  new  to  all  classes  of  readers,  and  may, 
perhaps,  be  deemed  heretical  and  revolutionary  by  conserva- 
tive meteorologists ;  yet  I  feel  assured  that  the  work  is  a  step 
in  the  right  direction — that  it  contains  a  substantially 
accurate  exposition  of  the  Philosophy  of  the  Weather,  and 
valuable  suggestions  for  the  practical  observer. 

I  have  inserted  my  name  in  the  title-page,  contrary  to 
my  original  intention,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  others ;  for  I 
have  no  scientific  reputation  which  will  aid  the  publisher  to  sell 
a  copy.  Nor  do  I  desire  to  acquire  such  reputation.  It  can 
never  form  any  part  of  my  "  capital  in  life."  Nor  has  it  in- 
fluenced me  at  all  in  preparing  the  work.  I  have  aimed  to 
fulfill  a  promise,  too  hastily  given,  perhaps — to  put  on  record 
the  observations  I  have  made>  and  the  inferences  I  have 
drawn  from  those  of  others — to  induce  and  assist  further  ob- 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

serrations,  and,  if  possible,  of  a  general  and  connected  char 
acter — and  to  impress  those  who  may  read  -what  I  have 
written  with  the  belief,  that  they  will  derive  a  degree  of  pleas- 
ure from  a  daily  familiarity  with,  and  intelligent  under- 
standing of,  the  "countenance  of  the  sky"  not  exceeded  by 
that  which  any  other  science  can  afford  them. 

I  have  examined,  with  entire  freedom  and  fearlessness  (but 
I  trust  in  a  manner  which  will  not  be  deemed  censurable  or 
in  bad  taste)  the  theories  and  supposed  erroneous  views  of 
others,  for,  in  my  judgment,  the  advancement  of  the  science 
requires  it.     Says  Sir  George  Harvey,  in  his  able  article  on 
Meteorology,  written  for  the  Encyclopaedia  Metropolitana : 

II  It  is  humiliating  to  those  who  have  been  most  occupied  in  culti- 
vating the  science  of  meteorology,  to  see  an  agriculturist  or  a  -water- 
man, who  has  neither  instruments  nor   theory,  foretell  the  future 
changes  of  the  weather  many  days  before  they  happen,  with  a  pre- 
cision which  the  philosopher,  aided  by  all  the  resources  of  science, 
would  be  unable  to  attain." 

The  admissions  contained  in  this  paragraph,  in  relation  to 
the  comparative  uselessness  of  instruments  and  theories,  and 
the  value  of  practical  observation,  are  both  in  a  good  meas- 
ure true.  And  the"  time  has  come,  or  should  speedily 
come,  when  "pride  of  opinion"  and  "esprit  du  corps" 
among  theorists  and  philosophers,  should  neither  be  in- 
dulged in,  nor  respected ;  and  when  their  theories  should  be 
freely  discussed,  and  rigidly  tested  by  the  observations  of 
practical  men.  Such  measure,  therefore,  as  I  have  meted, 
I  invite  in  return.  Let  whatever  I  have  advanced,  that  is 
new,  or  adopted  that  is  old,  be  as  rigidly  tested,  and  as 
freely  discussed.  Let  the  errors,  if  there  be  any — and  doubt- 
less there  are — be  detected  and  exposed.  Let  the  TRUTH  be 
sought  by  all ;  and  meteorology,  as  a  PRACTICAL  SCIENCE, 
advance  to  that  full  measure  of  perfection  and  usefulness,  of 
which  it  is  unquestionably  susceptible. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

1 

Heat  and  moisture  are  indispensable  to  the  fertillity  of  the 
earth — Arrangements  exist  for  their  diffusion  and  distribu- 
tion, and  all  the  phenomena  of  the  weather  result  from  their 
operation — Heat  furnished  or  produced  mainly  by  the  direct 
action  of  the  sun's  rays — Manner  in  which  it  is  diffused  over 
the  earth — Other  causes  operate  besides  the  sun's  rays — Tho 
earth  intensely  heated  in  its  interior — Heat  derived  from  tho 
great  Oceanic  currents,  and  the  aerial  currents  which  flow 
from  the  tropics  to  the  poles,  and  from  magnetism  and  electric- 
ity— "Water  distributed  by  an  atmospheric  machinery  as  ex- 
tensive as  the  globe — Evidences  of  this — Its  distribution  over 
the  continents  of  North  America — Explanation  of  it — Source 
from  whence  our  supply  of  water  is  derived,  and  from  which 
our  rivers  return. . .  , 


CHAPTER    II. 

Our  rivers  return  in  the  form  of  clouds,  and  in  storms  and 
showers — Definition  and  character  of  storms — Differences  in 
the  character  of  the  clouds  which  constitute  them — Nomen- 
clature of  Howard — Its  imperfections — New  order  of  descrip- 
tion—Low fog— High  fog— Storm  fog— Storm  scud— N.  "W. 
ecud — Cumulus — Stratus — Cirrus — Compounds  of  the  two  lat- 
ter— recapitulation  in  tabular  form 24 


CHAPTER    III. 

Our  rivers  do  not  return  from  tho  North  Atlantic — All  storms 
and  showers  move  from  the  westward  to  the  eastward — Seem- 


V  CONTENTS. 

PAQB 

ing  clouds  seen  moving  from  the  eastward  to  the  westward 
are  scud — They  are  incidents  of  the  storm,  and  not  a  neces- 
sary part  of  it — The  storm  clouds  are  above  them,  moving  to 
the  eastward — Occasions  when  this  may  be  seen — Admitted 
facts  prove  it — Investigations  prove  it — May  be  known  from 
analogy — From  the  fact  that  there  is  an  aerial  current  pursuing 
the  same  course  in  which  the  storms  originate — Character  of 
this  current — Its  influence  upon  our  country— Importance 
of  a  knowledge  of  its  origin,  cause,  and  the  reciprocal  action 
between  it  and  the  earth — To  this  end  necessary  to  go  down 
"to  the  chambers  of  the  South"...  ,  43 


CHAPTER    IV. 

The  trade  wind  region — Its  extent  and  arrangements — Its  belt 
of  daily  rains  and  movable  character — The  trade  winds — 
The  extra  tropical  belt  of  rains — Connection  between  them 
and  their  annual  movements — The  counter-trades — Their  origin 
and  situation — One  of  them  constitutes  our  aerial  current — It 
originates  in  the  South  Atlantic  as  a  surface-trade — Anomalies 
of  the  trade  wind  region — Dry  seasons — Humboldt's  descrip- 
tion of  them — Exist  where  the  surface  trades  are  situated — 
The  rainless  countries — Concentrated  counter-trade — Mon- 
soons— Received  theory  in  relation,, to  them  a  fallacy — Causo 
of  the  great  central  phenomena — Calorific  theory  a  fallacy — 
Land  not  hotter  under  the  belt  of  rains,  nor  sea  materially 
so — Theory  should  be  abandoned 62 


CHAPTER    V. 

The  agent,  magnetism — Its  character  and  currents — Oxygen 
magnetic — Precipitation  at  the  belt  of  rains  occasioned  by  de- 
polarization— Storms  originate  in  this  central  belt,  and  move 
toward  the  poles 82 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Course  and  functions  of  the  counter-trade — Ours  como  from  the 
South  Atlantic — Reason  why  it  can  not  come  from  tho 
Pacific — Mistake  of  Mr.  Redfield  and  Lieutenant  Maury  in 


CONTENTS. 

PAQB 

regard  to  it  —  All  our  storms  originate  in  it  —  Proofs  of  this  — 
State  of  the  weather,  whether  hot  or  cold  affected  by  it  — 
Proofs  of  this  —  All  our  surface  winds  are  incidents  of  it,  and 
due  to  its  conditions  and  attractions  —  Proofs  of  this  —  Char- 
acter of  the  different  winds  —  Anomalies  of  Mr.  Blodgett  ac- 
counted for  —  Received  theory  in  regard  to  sea  and  land 
breezes  a  mistaken  one  —  Proofs  of  this  —  Peculiar  character 
of  the  NT.  "W.  wind  —  Identity  with  the  winter  Mexican  north- 
ers —  Character  of  the  West  India  hurricanes  —  Of  the  thunder- 
gust  —  Of  the  tornado  —  Sundry  particulars  in  relation  to  the 
latter  —  Due  to  currents  of  electricity  —  Proportions  of  winds 
in  different  localities  —  Examination  of  the  work  of  Professor 
Coffin  upon  that  subject  —  Examination  of  Lieutenant  Maury's 
theory  of  the  monsoons  ..................................  92 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Height  of  the  counter-trade  in  different  latitudes  —  Cause  of  the 
Calms  of  Cancer  —  Influence  of  mountains  upon  the  counter- 
trade —  Reports  of  Herndon  and  Gibbon  —  Focus  of  precipita- 
tion in  the  extra-tropical  belt  north  of  its  southern  line  —  Evi- 
dences of  this  —  The  elevation  of  the  counter-trade  above  the 
earth  varies  in  the  same  latitude  with  the  variations  in  the  phe- 
nomena of  the  weather  —  Temperature  of  the  counter-trade  — 
Rain  dust,  its  origin  and  indications  —  Volcanic  ashes  —  How 
far  they  indicate  its  course  of  progression  —  Question  whether 
there  is  an  eastern  progression  of  the  body  of  the  atmosphere 
above  the  machinery  of  distribution  ......................  170 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Important  to  understand  the  precise  character  of  the  reciprocal 
action  between  the  earth  and  the  counter-trade — Connection 
between  the  width  and  movements  of  the  belt  of  inter- 
tropical  rains  and  tho  volume  of  the  trades — Its  peculiarities 
over  Africa,  the  Atlantic,  and  South  America — The  magnetic 
equator — Character  of  the  storms  which  originate  in  the  inter- 
tropical  belt  indicate  local  magnetic  action — Supposed  influ- 
ence of  volcanic  action — Gulf  Stream  changes  its  position — 
This  the  result  of  magnetic  action — Alternating  contrasts  of 
heat  and  cold,  and  ram  and  drought — Dr.  Webster's  history  of 


XV1U  CONTENTS 


the  weather  —  Spots  upon  the  sun  —  Their  character  and  influ- 
ence —  Cold  or  warm  periods  during  the  same  decade,  and 
during  different  decades  —  Connection  between  the  spots  and 
magnetic  disturbances  and  variations  —  Influence  of  the  moon 
upon  the  weather  —  No  decisive  inference  to  be  drawn  from 
these  facts,  and  a  more  critical  examination  necessary  ......  204 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Examination  of  existing  theories  —  Calorific  theory  the  prevailing 
one—  Lateral  overflow  of  Professor  Dove  —  Absurdity  of  his 
views  in  relation  to  them  —  His  theory  of  hurricanes  —  Its  ab- 
surdity —  A  new  theory  by  Mr.  Dobson  —  Three  theories  ad- 
vanced by  meteorologists  of  this  country  —  Professor  Espy's 
theory  —  Mr.  Bassnett's  theory  —  Mr.  Redfield's  theory  —  Ex- 
tended examination  of  the  latter  —  His  theory  in  relation  to 
the  fall  of  the  barometer  contradictory  in  its  character  —  Phi- 
losophy of  the  barometric  change  —  No  aid  to  be  derived  from 
these  theories  ..........................................  232 


CHAPTER    X. 

Further  inquiry  in  relation  to  the  reciprocal  action  between  the 
earth  and  the  counter-trade  —  Terrestrial  magnetism,  and  what 
we  know  of  it  —  Its  elements,  and  their  variations  —  Their  con- 
nection with  the  variations  of  atmospheric  condition  —  Mag- 
netism acts  through  its  connection  with  electricity  —  Character 
of  the  latter  and  its  variations  —  Their  connection  with  atmos- 
pheric conditions  —  Electricity  as  well  as  magnetism  in  excess 
over  this  country  —  Effects  of  it  upon  our  climate  —  Closer  con- 
sideration of  the  atmospheric  phenomena  —  Their  diurnal 
changes  and  connections  compared  with  those  of  magnetism 
and  electricity  —  Grouping  of  all  the  diurnal  variations  —  Par- 
ticular and  separate  examination  of  them  —  Classification  of 
storms  —  Examination  in  detail  of  the  several  classes  and  the 
primary  influence  of  the  earth  or  counter-trade  in  relation  to 
each...  .  285 


CHAPTER   XI. 
Prognostics 340 


THE 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  WEATHER, 


CHAPTER  -IX       • 

HEAT  and  moisture  are  indispensable  to  the  fer- 
tility of  the  earth.  Without  suitable  arrangements 
for  their  diffusion  and  distribution,  and  within  the 
limits  of  certain  minima  and  maxima,  it  would  not 
have  been  habitable,  or  the  design  of  its  Creator, 
perfected.  These  arrangements  therefore  exist,  and 
"  while  the  earth  remaineth  seed  time  and  harvest 
shall  not  cease."  Few  and  simple  in  their  character, 
though  necessarily  somewhat  complicated  and  irregu- 
lar in  their  operation,  the  ultimate  result  is  always 
attained.  A  beautiful  system  of  compensations  sup- 
plies the  losses  of  every  apparent  irregularity  in  one 
section  or  crop,  by  the  abundance  of  others. 

From  the  operation  of  these  few,  simple,  con- 
nected, and  intelligible  arrangements  for  the  diffu- 
sion of  heat  and  the  distribution  of  moisture  over 
the  earth,  result  all  the  phenomena  which  con- 
stitute the  weather ;  and  by  studying  them,  and  their 

1 


2  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

operation,  we  may  acquire  an  accurate  knowledge 
of  its  "Philosophy." 

The  necessary  heat  is  furnished,  or  produced,  mainly 
by  the  direct  action  of  the  sun's  rays ;  and  the  most 
obvious  feature  in  the  arrangements  for  its  diffusion 
is  that  by  which  the  sun  is  made  to  shine  success- 
ively and  alternately  upon  different  portions  of  the 
earth.  Nothing  animate  or  organic  could  endure  his 
burning  rays,  if  they  shone  continuously  or  verti- 
;  caily  upon  oie-ppijit,  or  could  exist  without  their  occa- 
^sional  presence.  t  Hence  the  provision  for  a  diurnal 
•rQt&tjonJ  to: prevent  the  exposure  of  any  portion  of 
the  globe  to  the  action  of  those  rays  for  twenty-four 
consecutive  hours,  except  for  a  limited  period,  and 
at*a  considerable  angle,  in  the  polar  regions.  But 
the  earth  is  spheroidal,  and  a  diurnal  revolution 
would  still  leave  that  portion  which  lies  under  the 
equator  too  much,  and  the  other  too  little,  exposed 
to  the  action  of  the  sun.  This  is  obviated  by  an 
annual  revolution  of  the  earth  around  the  sun,  and 
an  obliquity  of  its  axis,  by  reason  of  which  the 
northern  and  southern  portions  are  alternately  and, 
as  far  as  the  tropics  vertically,  exposed  to  the  sun ;  and 
it  is  made  to  travel  (so  to  speak)  from  tropic  to 
tropic,  producing  summer  and  winter,  and  other  im- 
portant phenomena. 

This  obliquity  and  consequent  change  of  exposure 
are  in  degree  precisely  what  the  wants  of  the  earth 
would  seem  to  require.  If  it  was  greater,  the  sun 
would  travel  further  north  and  south,  but  the  altern- 
ate winters  would  be  longer  and  more  severe.  If 


THE    WEATHER. 


it  was  less,   the  end  would    not    be  as    perfectly 
attained. 

The  direct  action  of  the  sun's  rays  upon  the  earth, 
particularly  those  portions  which  lie  north  and  south 
of  the  tropics,  is  not  the  only  source  from  which 
the  supply  of  heat  is  derived.  Although  there  is 
a  general  increase  of  heat  in  spring  and  summer 
when  the  sun  travels  north,  and  of  cold  when  he 
travels  south  in  winter,  yet  there  are  frequent  irregu- 
larities attending  both.  Yery  sudden  and  great 
changes  occur  in  each  of  them.  Frost  sometimes, 
cool  weather  often,  occurs  in  midsummer,  and  con- 
siderable heat  and  tornadoes  in  midwinter.  And 
ordinarily  the  maxima  and  minima  of  each  month 
and,  indeed,  of  each  week  are  widely  apart.  Even 
in  the  polar  regions,  in  midwinter,  where  the  sun  does 
not  shine  at  all,  the  same  moderating  changes  with 
which  we  are  conversant  occur  in  degree.  An  ex- 
tract or  two  from  the  register  found  in  Dr.  Kane's  nar- 
rative of  the  "Grinnell  Expedition"  will  illustrate  this. 

JANUABY  1851,  (LATITUDE  ABOUT  74°,  LONGITUDE  ABOUT  70°). 


Date. 

Wind. 

Force 

Ther. 

Bar. 

Sky  and  Weather. 

Jan.   3 
4 
5 

calm 
gent  breeze 
eent  breeze 

—26.1 
—21.3 
—  3.9 

29.62 
29.53 

29.59 

blue  skv,  m. 
blue  sky,  detached  clouds,  m. 
blue  skv,  m.,  clouded  over. 

w. 

W.  by  N. 

6 

7 
8 

W.  by  S.     Tight  breeze 
W.         gent  breeze 
W.S.W.     light  air 

—  0.8  29.67  clouded  over,  m.,  snow. 
—14.4  29.96  blue  sky,  detached  clouds,  m. 
—21.2  |30.14  blue  sky,  m. 

29 

W.N.W. 

light  air 

—18.9  130.19  blue  sky. 

30 

NW.  bv  W. 

light  air 

—13.5  1  30.  17  Clouded  over,  m. 

31 

NW.  by  W. 

gent  breeze 

—  4.4  29.35  clouded  over.  snow. 

Feb.  1 
"     2 

w; 
w. 

light  breeze 
light  air 

—11.7  29.27 
—25.1  j  29.62 

cloudy,  blue  sky,  m. 
blue  sky,  detached  clouds,  m. 

These  extracts  are  instructive.      It  will  be  seen 


4  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

that  on  the  3d  of  January,  when  the  sun  had  been 
absent  some  weeks,  it  was  calm,  the  thermometer 
stood  at  26°  below  zero  (the  —  or  minus  mark  be- 
fore the  figures  indicates  that),  and  the  barometer 
at  29.62,  with  blue  sky,  somewhat  misty  or  hazy — 
(the  letter  "  m."  standing  for  misty  or  hazy) — a  state 
of  the  air  which  existed  most  of  the  time  when  it 
did  not  snow  or  rain,  and  therefore  is  of  no  import- 
ance in  this  connection.  The  next  day  the  therm- 
ometer began  to  rise,  and  the  barometer  to  fall. 
On  the  5th  it  clouded  over,  and  the  thermometer 
rose  rapidly,  and  on  the  6th  it  had  risen  more  than 
25°,  and  snow  fell.  On  the  7th  it  cleared  off,  the 
thermometer  fell  rapidly,  and  the  barometer  rose. 
On  the  8th  the  thermometer  had  fallen  to  21°  below 
zero,  and  the  barometer  had  risen  to  30.14.  Another 
instance,  in  all  respects  similar,  occurred  the  latter 
part  of  the  month.  "We  shall  see  hereafter  that  these 
changes  are  precisely  like  those  which  occur  with  us, 
and  every  where.  That,  as  in  the  polar  regions,  and 
whether  the  sun  be  present  or  absent,  or  obscured  by 
clouds,  and  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  the  changes 
from  warm  to  cold  and  from  cold  to  warm  are  sud- 
den and  great,  and  that  the  latter  are  connected  with 
the  fall  of  rain  and  snow — that  every  where  in  winter 
it  moderates  to  storm. 

Many  other  instructive  instances,  especially  in  re- 
lation to  the  great  difference  in  the  seasons  in  our 
own  country,  and  upon  the  same  parallels  else- 
where, might  be  cited  if  it  were  necessary.  But  they 
will  more  appropriately  appear  in  the  sequel. 


i.  1. 


In  the  above  cut  the  isothermal  lines  are  Centigrade.  The  zero  of  the 
Centigrade  thermometer  is  the  freezing  point  of  water,  or  32°  of  Fahrenheit. 
The  boiling  point  of  water  is  100°  Centigrade,  or  212°  Fahrenheit.  A  degree 
of  Centigrade  is  equal  to  one  degree  and  four-fifths,  Fahrenheit.  The  0° 
line  of  the  cut,  therefore,  is  32°  of  Fahrenheit— the  line  of  5°  above  is  41° 
Fahrenheit— the  line  of  5°  below  is  23°  Fahrenheit,  and  so  on.  The  reader, 
who  is  not  familiar  with  the  difference  in  the  scale  of  the  thermometer,  is 
desired  to  remember  this ;  for  we  shall  make  occasional  extracts  in  which 
the  temperature  is  given  in  the  Centigrade  scale. 


THE    WEATHER.  7 

The  cause  of  those  irregularities,  especially  in  the 
same  seasons  of  different  years,  and  when  very  great, 
is  often  sought  and  supposed  to  be  found  in  the 
presence  or  absence  of  spots  on  the  sun,  ice  floes  and 
bergs  in  the  Atlantic,  etc.,  etc.  But  neither  the 
spots,  nor  ice,  nor  other  local  causes  produce  them. 
The  cause  will  be  found  in  the  character  of  the 
arrangements  we  are  considering,  and  the  irregular 
action  of  the  power  which  controls  them. 

Nor  is  the  temperature  of  the  northern  hemisphere, 
north  of  the  tropics,  equal  in  the  same  latitudes. 
Yery  great  diversities  exist  in  the  "annual  mean" 
as  well  as  the  "  mean"  of  the  different  seasons. 
Accurate  observations  at  many  points  have  enabled 
men  of  science  to  demonstrate  this  by  drawing 
isothermal  lines  (z.  e.,  lines  of  equal  average  annual 
heat)  from  point  to  point  around  the  earth,  which, 
show  at  a  glance  these  differences.  The  annexed  cut 
is  a  polar  projection  of  the  isothermal  lines  of  the 
northern  hemisphere,  as  far  down  as  the  tropic, 
copied  from  Kaemtz's  Meteorology.  The  dotted  lines 
show  the  parallels  of  latitude,  the  dark  lines  the  isother- 
mal lines,  or  lines  of  equal  annual  average  temper- 
ature. The  reader  is  desired  to  observe  how  rarely 
they  correspond  with  the  parallels  of  latitude,  and 
how  they  fall  below  in  a  few  instances,  and  in  others 
with  great  uniformity  rise  almost  to  the  pole. 

Take,  for  example,  the  isothermal  line  of  0  or 
zero — that  is,  the  line  where  the  mean  or  average 
height  of  the  thermometer  for  the  year  is  at  zero. 
At  Behring's  Straits  this  line  is  a  little  below  the 


8  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

Arctic  circle,  or  the  parallel  of  66.30  north  latitude. 
Passing  east  over  North  America,  it  descends  into 
Canada,  almost  to  Lake  Superior,  and  to  about  the 
50th  parallel:  that  is  to  say,  it  is  on  an  average 
during  the  year  as  cold  on  our  continent  at  the 
50th  parallel  as  it  is  near  Behring's  Straits  at  the  65th 
parallel.  Passing  east,  the  line  of  zero  rises  again 
over  the  Atlantic  Ocean  until,  in  the  meridian  of 
Spitzbergen,  it  reaches,  within  the  Arctic  circle,  up 
almost  to  the  75th  parallel.  So,  too,  the  isothermal 
of  5°  below  zero,  which  is  below  the  60th  parallel 
in  Siberia,  rises  in  the  North  Sea,  above  Behring's 
Straits,  to  the  parallel  of  75°,.  descending  on  the 
continent  in  North  America  to  the  55th  parallel,  and 
rising  again  almost  to  the  pole  at  Spitzbergen,  to 
descend  again  in  Siberia*  while  the  isothermals  of  10° 
and  15°  below  zero,  which  in  North  America  are  but 
just  above  the  latitude  of  60°  and  75°  respectively, 
ascend  abruptly  surrounding  the  magnetic  pole,  and 
falling  short  of  the  geographical  one.  Let  this  projec- 
tion of  the  lines  of  equal  temperature,  and  particu- 
larly the  situation  of  the  magnetic  poles,  be  studied 
well,  for  we  shall  recur  to  it  hereafter  in  illustration 
of  many  important  portions  of  our  subject. 

It  is  apparent  from  these  facts,  and  were  it  neces- 
sary might  be  rendered  still  more  so  by  referring  to 
others,  that  other  causes  operate  in  the  distribution 
of  heat  over  the  earth  besides  the  direct  action  of 
the  sun's  rays  upon  it.  Doubtless  very  considerable 
allowance  is  to  be  made  for  the  difference  of  seasons, 
and  difference  during  the  same  season  upon  the  land 


THE    TVEATHER.  9 

and  upon  the  ocean ;  in  mountainous  countries  and 
level  ones.  But  making  every  allowance  for  them, 
the  fact  that  other  causes  have  a  controlling  influence 
in  producing  the  deviations  still  remains  most  ob- 
vious. Neither  the  difference  of  temperature  between 
the  land  and  the  ocean,  or  land  surfaces  of  unequal 
elevations,  will  account  for  the  elevation  of  the 
isothermal  lines  on  different  portions  of  the  ocean, 
or  their  extension  around  the  magnetic  poles. 

Eeturning  to  a  consideration  of  the  arrangements 
for  the  diffusion  of  heat,  we  observe  :  First,  that  the 
earth  itself  is  intensely  heated  in  its  interior.  This 
is  inferred,  and  justly,  from  the  fact  that  the  ther- 
mometer is  found  to  rise  about  one  degree  for  every 
fifty -five  feet  of  descent — whether  in  boring  artesian 
wells,  exploring  caves,  or  sinking  shafts  in  mines.  It 
is  demonstrated,  also,  by  the  existence  of  hot  springs 
and  the  action  of  volcanoes.  Heat  is  supposed  to  be 
conducted  from  the  center  toward  the  surface  every 
where,  but  with  difficulty  and  slowly.  It  is  also 
supposed  to  be  conducted  from  the  tropical  regions 
toward  the  poles.  Such  is  the  opinion  of  Humboldt. 
(Cosmos,  vol.  i.  p.  167.) 

Probably  it  reaches  the  surface  and  exerts  an  influ- 
ence, also,  upon  the  weather  through  the  ocean,  and 
by  heating  it  in  its  greatest  depths.  Little  attention 
has  been  paid,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  to  the-  ques- 
tion how  far  the  ocean  is  thus  heated  in  tropical 
latitudes.  Doubtless  a  portion  of  the  warmth  of  the 
ocean  there  is  derived  from  that  source,  and  it  has  its 

influence  in  changing  the  temperature  of  the  deep- 

1* 


10  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

seated  cold  polar  currents  of  tlie  great  oceans. 
Perhaps  it  may  yet  be  found  that  the  icebergs  are 
detached  by  it  in  the  polar  seas — the  observations 
of  Dr.  Kane  point  to  such  a  result.  (Grinnell  Ex- 
pedition, p.  113,  and  also  chap.  48.) 

Little  need  be  said  of  the  inconsiderable  quan- 
tities of  heat  supposed  to  be  derived  by  radiation 
from  the  stars,  the  planets,  and  from  space.  If  any 
such  are  derived  they  are  too  inconsiderable  to  be 
of  importance  in  this  inquiry. 

Heat  is  also  carried,  and  in  quantities  which  exert 
very  considerable  influence  upon  the  weather,  from 
the  tropics  to  the  poles  by  the  great  oceanic  currents 
which  flow  unceasingly  from  one  to  the  other. 

The  most  important  of  these  with  which  we  are 
acquainted  is  the  Gulf  Stream  of  the  Atlantic. 
Gathering  in  the  South  Atlantic,  and  passing  north 
through  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
it  issues  out  through  the  Bahama  Channel,  and  flows 
north  along  the  eastern  coast  of  the  United  States, 
but  some  distance  from  it,  to  Newfoundland,  and 
from  thence  continuing  to  the  north-east  and  spread- 
ing out  over  the  surface  of  the  ocean — a  portion  of  it 
mingling  with  the  waters  of  the  North  Atlantic  in 
passing — it  flows  up  on  the  western  coast  of  Europe, 
around  the  Faroe  Islands,  and  Spitzbergen,  to  the 
polar  sea ;  passing  around  Greenland,  and  perhaps 
through  its  Fiords,  it  descends  again  through  the 
sounds  and  channels  of  the  Arctic  regions  into  Baffin's 
Bay,  and  through  Davis's  Straits,  burdened  with  the 
icebergs  and  floes  of  the  polar  waters,  to  return  again 


THE    WEATHER.  11 

to  the  South  Atlantic.  For  reasons  which  will 
appear  in  the  sequel,  it  has  comparatively  little  in- 
fluence upon  the  weather  of  the  United  States. 
"Western  Europe,  however,  Greenland,  the  islands 
which  lie  in  its  course,  and  the  polar  seas,  are  most 
materially  influenced.  Although  not  the  only  cause, 
it  has  very  much  to  do  with  the  remarkable  elevation 
of  the  isothermal  lines  over  the  Northern  Atlantic, 
and  upon  Western  Europe,  as  seen  upon  the  map. 
;  A  like  oceanic  current  exists  in  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
the  influence  of  which  may  also  be  traced  upon  the 
map  by  the  elevation  of  the  isothermal  lines  at  the 
northern  extremity  of  that  ocean,  and  upon  the 
north-west  coast  of  North  America.  A  vast  amount 
of  heat  is  transported  from  the  tropical  to  the 
temperate  and  frozen  regions  of  the  earth  by  these 
great  oceanic  currents. 

Another  supply  is  derived  from  aerial  currents 
which  flow  from  the  tropics  toward  the  poles.  These 
currents  exist  every  where  over  the  entire  surface 
of  the  earth,  but  in  more  concentrated  volumes  along 
the  great  "  lines  of  no  variation,"  and  greater  magnetic 
intensity,  on  the  western  side  of  the  great  oceans, 
over  the  eastern  portions  of  the  two  continents  of 
North  America  and  Asia.  Not,  as  meteorological 
writers  suppose,  in  the  upper  portions  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, having  risen  in  the  trade- wind  region  and  run 
off  at  the  top  toward  the  poles  by  force  of  gravity, 
but  near,  and  sometimes  in  contact  with  the  earth. 
The  influence  of  these  aerial  currents  upon  the 
temperature  of  the  atmosphere,  and  in  producing 


12  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

the  phenomena  we  are  to  consider,  is  exceedingly 
important.  "We  shall  have  occasion  to  examine 
them  with  great  cure  and  minuteness  tinder  another 
head,  for  upon  them,  more  than  any  other  portion 
of  the  arrangements,  depend  not  only  the  diffusion 
of  heat,  but  also  the  distribution  of  moisture. 

Still  another  supply  of  heat,  during  the  sudden 
changes,  at  least,  is  produced  by  the  action  of  terres- 
trial magnetism  and  electricity.  Yery  great  progress 
has  been  made  within  a  short  period,  in  the  investi- 
gation of  the  nature  of  these  agents.  The  identity, 
or  at  least  intimate  association  or  connection  of  heat, 
light,  electricity,  and  magnetism,  always  suspected, 
has  been  in  various  ways,  and  by  a  variety  of  ex- 
periments demonstrated.  The  influence  of  magnet- 
ism if  distinct  from  gravitation,  is  second  only  to 
that ;  and  its  agency  in  producing  the  phenomena  we 
are  considering  is  primary  and  controlling.  "We 
will  only,  in  this  connection,  ask  the  reader  to  note 
the  situation  of  the  north  magnetic  poles  (for  there 
are  two  of  them) ;  the  manner  in  which  the  isother- 
mal lines  surround  them ;  the  fact  that  they  are  poles 
of  cold,  i.  e.,  that  it  is  colder  there  than  even  to  the 
north  of  them.  "We  shall  recur  to  this  part  of  the 
subject  again. 

Such,  briefly  considered,  are  the  principal  arrange- 
ments by  which  heat  is  diffused  over  the  earth. 

Equally  marked  by  infinite  wisdom,  and  equally 
interesting  and  important,  are  the  arrangements  by 
which  moisture  is  distributed.  Doubtless  the  general 
belief  is  that  this  is  a  simple  process;  that  water 


THE    WEATHER.  13 

evaporates  and  rises  till  it  meets  a  colder  stratum  of 
atmosphere,  and  then  condenses  and  falls  again  ;  or 
that,  according  to  the  Huttonian  theory,  currents  of 
air  of  different  temperatures  mingle  and  equalize 
their  heat,  and  the  aggregate  mass  when  equalized 
in  temperature  is  cooler,  and  therefore  is  unable  to 
hold  as  much  moisture  in  solution  as  the  most  heated 
portion  had,  and  the  excess  falls  in  rain.  But  the 
process  is  by  no  means  so  simple,  nor  is  heat  the  sole 
or  most  powerful  agent  concerned  in  it.  Currents 
of  air  do  not  mingle,  but  stratify.  Evaporation  from 
the  surface  of  any  given  portion  of  the  earth  out- 
side of  the  tropics  does  not  alone  supply  that  portion 
with  rain.  Vast  and  wonderful,  coextensive  with  the 
globe  itself,  and  perfectly  connected,  is  the  machinery  by 
which  that  supply  is  furnished  even  to  the  most  in- 
considerable portion  of  its  surface. 

Take  your  map  of  North  America  and  note,  in 
this  respect,  its  peculiarities.  It  extends  from  the 
Isthmus  of  Darien  to  the  Arctic  regions,  and  from 
the  65th  to  the  160th  meridian  of  west  longitude 
from  Greenwich,  and  has  upon  its  surface  a  type  of 
every  climate  in  the  world.  For  the  purpose  of 
simplifying  and  illustrating  the  matter  in  hand,  let 
us  divide  it  into  five  sections.  Let  the  first  section 
embrace  Central  America  and  .Southern  Mexico, 
south  of  28° ;  the  second,  Northern  Mexico  and 
Southern  New  Mexico,  California,  etc.,  between  the 
parallels  of  28°  and  32°;  the  third,  Northern  California, 
Utah,  Southern  Oregon,  and  "Western  New  Mexico, 
north  of  the  parallel  of  32° ;  the  fourth,  the  entire 


14 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


continent  north  of  42°;  and  the  fifth,  •  the  eastern 
United  States,  east  of  the  meridian  of  100°.  These 
divisions  are  not  intended  to  be  entirely  accurate  in 
their  separation,  but  substantially  so  for  the  purpose 
of  illustrating  the  differences  which  exist  in  each. 

The  accompanying  diagram  shows  approximately, 
by  dotted  lines,  the  divisions. 

Fig.  2. 


THE    WEATHER.  15 

Now  let  us  see  in  what  a  diverse  manner,  and  to 
what  a  different  extent,  they  are  severally  supplied 
with  moisture. 

Central  America  and  Southern  Mexico  lie  within 
the  tropics — their  rains  are  tropical  rains.  The 
season  is  divided  into  wet  and  dry,  as  are  the  seasons 
of  all  tropical  countries  which  are  not  rainless. 
During  the  rainy  season  it  rains  a  portion  of  nearly 
every  day,  and  during  the  dry  season  the  sky  is 
clear,  the  air  is  pure,  and  rain  seldom  falls. 

All  around  the  earth  within  the  tropics,  over  the 
land  and  over  the  sea,  there  is  a  belt  of  almost  daily 
rams,  varying  in  width,  north  and  south,  in  different 
sections,  but  averaging  about  five  hundred  miles. 
This  belt  of  daily  rains  is  formed  at  and  by  the  meet- 
ing of  N.  E.  and  S.  E.  trades,  and  travels  north  and 
south  with  them,  as  they  do  with  the  sun,  encircling 
the  globe.  By  this  narrow  belt  a  portion  of  the  earth's 
surface,  an  average  of  some  35°  of  latitude,  is  sup- 
plied with  moisture.  "Wherever  it  is  situated  at 
any  given  period,  the  tropical  rainy  season  exists; 
and  when  it  is  absent  in  its  northern  or  southern 
transit,  the  dry  season  prevails.  Southern  Mexico 
is  within  the  range  of  this  moving  belt,  and  in  its 
course  to  the  northward  with  the  sun,  in  our  summer 
from  May  to  October,  it  arrives  over,  and  covers  that 
country  with  a  rainy  season.  "When  the  sun 
returns  to  the  south,  taking  with  it  the  trades  and 
this  belt  of  tropical  rains,  that  portion  of  Mexico  is 
without  rain,  and  dry,  and  so  continues  until  the 
rainy  belt  returns  in  the  following  year.  While  the 


16  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OP 

* 

belt  is  over  Southern  Mexico  it  is  nearly  all  precipi- 
tation, and  there  is  little  evaporation;  while  that  belt 
is  absent  it  is  all  evaporation,  with  little  or  no  rain. 
Surely  this  is  not  consistent  with  the  prevailing 
belief  of  simple  evaporation,  ascent  to  a  colder 
stratum,  commingling,  and  condensation,  and  rain. 
Southern  Mexico  at  least  is  not  supplied  by  mere 
evaporation  from  its  surface,  and  must  therefore 
form  an  exception  to  that  belief,  and  to  the  Huttonian 
theory. 

But  we  shall  recur  again  to  the  peculiarity  of  dis- 
tribution within  the  tropics. 

Turn  now  for  a  brief  space  to  Northern  Mexico, 
Southern  New  Mexico,  and  Southern  California.  In 
Northern  Mexico,  Southern  New  Mexico,  Utah, 
and  California,  between  the  parallels  of  28°  and  32°, 
and  particularly  west^  of  the  mountain  ranges,  we 
find  an  almost  rainless  region,  sterile  and  worthless, 
resembling  that  which  is  found  upon  nearly  the  same 
parallels  of  north  latitude  in  Northern  Africa,  Egypt, 
Arabia,  Beloochistan,  Afghanistan,  and  North-west- 
ern India ;  and  in  corresponding  latitudes  south  of 
the  Equator,  in  Peru,  a  portion  of  Southern  Africa, 
and  the  northern  and  middle  portions  of  New 
Holland.  "Why  Northern  Mexico  and  the  other 
countries  named  are  thus  sterile  and  comparatively 
rainless,  we  shall  see  hereafter,  when  we  examine 
critically  the  machinery  of  distribution  as  it  operates 
within  the  tropics.  It  is  the  fact  that  it  is  thus  sterile 
and  rainless  to  which  we  desire  to  call  attention  in 
this  place. 


THE    "WEATHER.  17 

Mr.  Bartlett  thus  describes  it : 

"  On  leaving  the  head  waters  of  the  Concho,  nature  assumes  a 
new  aspect  Here  shrubs  and  trees  disappear,  except  the  thorny 
chaparral  of  the  deserts;  the  water-courses  all  cease,  nor  does  any 
stream  intervene  until  the  Rio  Grande  is  reached,  three  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  distant,  except  the  muddy  Pecos,  which,  rising  hi  tho 
Rocky  Mountains,  near  Santa  Fe,  crosses  the  great  desert  plain  west 
of  the  Llano  Estacado,  or  Staked  Plain. 

"  From  the  Rio  Grande  to  the  waters  of  the  Pacific,  pursuing  a 
westerly  course' along  the  32d  parallel,  near  El  Paso  Del  Norte,  there 
is  no  stream  of  a  higher  grade  than  a  small  creek.  I  know  of  nono 
but  the  San  Pedro  and  the  Santa  Cruz — the  latter  but  a  rivulet,  los- 
ing itself  in  the  sands  near  the  Gila — the  other  but  a  diminutive 
stream,  scarcely  reaching  that  river.  At  the  "head-waters  of  the 
Concho,  therefore,  begins  that  great  desert  region,  which,  with  no 
interruption  save  a  limited  valley  or  bottom-land  along  the  Rio 
Grande,  and  lesser  ones  near  the  small  courses  mentioned,  extends 
over  a  district  embracing  sixteen  degrees  of  longitude,  or  about  a 
thousand  miles,  and  is  wholly  unfit  for  agriculture.  It  is  a  desolate, 
barren  waste,  which  can  never  be  rendered  useful  for  man  or  beast, 
save  for  a  public  highway." — Bartletfs  Personal  Narrative,  voL  i. 
p.  138. 

Turning  now  to  Central  and  Upper  California,  and 
Utah,  and  Southern  Oregon,  we  find  still  another  pe- 
culiarity. Like  Southern  Mexico,  they  have  a  rainy 
and  dry  season,  but  at  a  different  perioSj  and  for  a 
different  reason.  The  dry  season  of  California,  etc., 
is  the  summer  of  the  northern  hemisphere,  and  her 
rainy  season  the  winter.  California  is,  therefore,  dry 
when  Southern  Mexico  is  wet,  and  vice  versa.  The 
belt  of  rains  which  supplies  California  with  moisture 
during  her  rainy  seasons  is  the  belt  of  extra-tropical 
rains,  which  extends  from  the  northern  limit  of  the 
north-east  trades  to  the  poles,  encircling  the  earth. 
The  southern  edge  of  this  extra-tropical  belt  is 
carried  up  on  the  western  coast  of  America,  and  in 


18 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


that  portion  of  the  continent  in  summer,  when  the 
sun  and  trades,  and  the  inter-tropical  rainy  belt  travel 
to  the  north,  and  uncover  California,  etc.,  leaving 
them  without  rain  for  a  period  of  about  six  months. 

As  the  sun,  with  the  trades,  travels  south,  the 
southern  edge  of  the  belt  of  extra-tropical  rain 
follows,  and  covers  California,  etc.,  again  extending 

Fig.  3. 


IN  SUMMER. 


THE    WEATHER. 


19 


gradually  from  the  north  to  the  south,  and  thus  their 
wet  season  returns.  The  annexed  diagrams  by  the 
shading  will  show  the  situation  of  the  rainy  belts 
which  cover  Mexico,  Utah,  New  Mexico,  and  Califor- 
nia in  summer  and  winter,  and  that  the  belts  of 
rains  are  entirely  distinct  and  different  in  character. 
Here  again  in  this  section  of  the  continent,  as  in 

Fig.  4. 


nr  WINTER. 


20  THE     PHILOSOPHY    OF 

Mexico,  evaporation  is  going  on  for  six  months  of 
the  year,  and  were  it  not  for  the  return  of  the  belt 
of  rains  from  the  north,  in  the  fall,  would  go  on  for 
the  entire  year  without  precipitation;  and  for  the 
other  six  months  precipitation  is  vastly  in  excess. 
Nor  can  this  be  reconciled  with,  or  explained  by,  the 
Huttonian  or  any  other  received  theory  of  rain. 
Here  again  it  is  obvious  that  evaporation  alone, 
however  great  or  long  continued,  will  not  furnish 
the  evaporating  section  with  rain. 

The  northern  portion  of  the  continent  lies  beneath 
the  zone  of  extra-tropical  rains,  and  north  of  the 
northern  limit  of  the  1ST.  E.  trades — is  never  un- 
covered from  it,  and  has  no  distinct  rainy  or  dry 
season,  although  more  rain  falls  at  certain  periods, 
and  in  certain  localities,  than  at  others.  The  climate 
of  that  part  of  Oregon  which  lies  upon  the  Pacific, 
and  the  character  of  its  rains,  resemble  those  of  North- 
western Europe,  and  will  be  further  explained 
hereafter. 

Coming  to  the  portion  of  the  continent  which  we 
occupy,  the  5th  section,  we  find  it  different  still — a 
most  favored  region.  Portions  of  it — Eastern  Texas, 
for  instance — are  upon  the  same  parallels  of  latitude 
as  the  rainless  regions  of  Northern  Mexico,  etc. 
Eastern  Texas,  however,  is  not  rainless.  Other  por- 
tions are  upon  the  same  parallels  as  California,  etc., 
yet  have  no  distinct  rainy  and  dry  season.  "We 
repeat,  this  section  is  a  most  favored  region — without 
a  parallel  upon  any  portion  of  the  earth's  surface, 


THE    WEATHER.  21 

except,  in  degree,  in  China  and  some  other  portions 
of  Eastern  Asia. 

It  is  not  only  without  a  distinct  rainy  and  dry- 
season,  but  it  is  watered  by  an  average,  annually, 
of  more  than  forty  inches  of  rain,  while  Europe, 
although  bounded  on  three  sides  by  seas  and  oceans, 
and  apparently  much  more  favorably  situated,  re- 
ceives annually  an  average  of  only  about  twenty- 
five — if  we  except  Norway,  and  one  or  two  other 
places,  where  the  fall  is  excessive.  The  distribu- 
tion of  this  supply  of  moisture  over  the  United 
States  is,  in  other  respects,  wonderful.  Iowa,  in  the 
interior  of  the  continent,  far  away  from  the  great 
oceans,  on  the  east  or  west,  or  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the 
south,  receives  fifty  inches ;  some  ten  or  fifteen  inches 
more  than  fall  upon  the  slope  east  of  the  Alleghanies, 
and  contiguous  to  the  great  Atlantic  (from  which  all 
our  storms  are,  erroneously,  supposed  to  be  de- 
rived), and  the  average  over  the  entire  great  interior 
valley  is  about  forty-five  inches,  falling  at  all  seasons 
of  the  year. 

Observe,  then,  by  way  of  recapitulation :  Southern 
Mexico  has  a  rainy  season  furnished  by  the  belt  of 
wfer-tropical  rains,  which  travels  up  over  it  from  the 
south  in  summer.  California  has  a  rainy  season, 
which  is  furnished  by  the  eatfro-tropical  belt  of  rains, 
which  travels  down  from  the  north,  and  covers  it  in 
winter.  Northern  Mexico  and  the  adjoining  regions 
west  of  the  100th  meridian  are  between  the  limits 
of  the  two,  and  neither  travels  far  enough  to  reach 
them,  except  for  brief  and  uncertain  periods ;  they  are 


22  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

comparatively  rainless ;  while  the  eastern  portion  of 
the  continent,  in  all  latitudes,  unlike  the  others,  is 
without  a  distinctly  marked  dry  season,  or  a  rainless 
region,  and  with  the  exception  of  occasional  droughts, 
is  abundantly  supplied  with  rain  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year. 

And  now,  what  is  the  explanation  of  all  this? 
What  produces  the  extra-tropical  belt  of  regular 
rains  surrounding  the  earth,  north  of  the  parallel 
of  30°  north,  in  some  places,  and  35°  in  others, 
extending  to  the  pole,  with  its  southern  edge  travel- 
ing up  ten  or  more  degrees  in  summer,  leaving 
large  portions  of  the  earth  subject  to  a  dry  season  ; 
and  back  again  in  the  winter  to  give  them  a  rainy 
one?  What  produces  the  narrow  belt  of  inter- 
tropical  rains,  encircling  the  earth ;  traveling  up  and 
down  every  year  over  an  average  of  35°  of  latitude, 
supplying  every  portion  of  it  alternately  with  rain  ? 
And  what  connects  the  two  together  over  the  eastern 
portion  of  North  America,  so  as  to  leave  no  distinctly 
marked  wet  and  dry  season,  and  no  rainless  and 
sterile  portion  there?  Are  all  these  the  result  of 
simple  evaporation,  ascent  to  a  colder  region,  con- 
densation, and  descent  again?  Demonstrably  not. 
Of  the  forty  inches  which  fall  annually  upon  the 
middle  and  eastern  portions  of  the  United  States,  an 
average  probably  of  one-half  or  twenty  inches,  runs 
off  by  the  rivers  to  the  ocean,  or  is  carried  away 
eastward  by  the  westerly  and  north-westerly  evapor- 
ating winds.  The  same  is  true,  in  degree,  of  the  rain 
which  falls  upon  the  other  portions.  Evaporation, 


THE    WEATHER.  23 

therefore,  could  not  keep  up  the  supply.  From 
whence,  then,  does  it  come  ?  this  twenty  inches,  thus 
lost  by  the  rivers  and  winds,  and  with  such  wonderful 
regularity  every  year. 

"  All  the  rivers  run  into  the  sea,  yet  the  sea  is  not 
full.  Note  the  place  whence  the  rivers  come,  hither  they 
return  again.''1 

But  how  is  it  that  they  thus  return  with  such 
wonderful  regularity,  in  a  narrow  traveling  belt  of 
daily  rains  within  the  tropics,  and  a  movable  belt 
of  irregular  rains  without  the  tropics,  extending  to 
the  poles,  leaving  a  space  on  each  side  of  the  equator 
encircling  the  earth  in  like  manner  (except  at  two 
points,  viz.,  Eastern  Asia  and  Eastern  North  America), 
from  which  they  do  not  go,  and  to  which  they  do 
not  return,  and  which  is  almost  entirely  unfurnished 
with  rain  ?  And  all  this  without  any  relation,  what- 
ever, to  the  contiguity  of  the  oceans?  Obviously 
this  is  not  the  work  of  mere  evaporation,  or  of  the 
accidental  or  irregular  commingling  of  winds  with 
different  dew  points,  or  quantities  of  moisture  in 
solution,  or  accidental,  irregular  changes  of  barome- 
tric pressure.  It  is  one  vast,  wonderful,  connected,  and 
regular  system, — co-extensive  with  the  globe — necessary 
to  the  return  of  moisture  from  the  oceans  upon  the  most 
inconsiderable  portion  of  it,  and  to  the  condensation  of  the 
local  moisture  of  evaporation  ;  and  by  it  the  waters  are 
returned  from  the  oceans  as  regularly  and  bountifully 
upon  the  far  interior  of  the  great  continents  in  the  same 
latitudes,  as  upon  the  "  isles  which  rest  in  their  bosoms." 


CHAPTER  II. 

BEFORE  proceeding  to  an  examination  of  this  con- 
nected atmospheric  machinery,  and  an  investigation 
of  the  particular  ocean  from  which  our  rivers  return, 
it  may  be  well  to  look  at  the  form  in  which  they 
appear  to  return,  that  we  may  have  a  clear  under- 
standing of  terms. 

They  seem  to  return  in  the  form  of  clouds,  and  in 
storms  and  showers,  although,  in  truth,  they  return 
in  regular,  uniform,  ordinarily  invisible  currents,  and 
the  storms  and  showers  are  but  condensations  in,  and 
discharges  from  portions  of  those  currents,  aided  by 
the  local  moisture  of  evaporation. 

The  term  storms,  seems  to  be  used  by  European 
meteorologists  to  denote  what  we  term  thunder 
showers  or  gusts,  and  tornados ;  while  what  we  call 
storms  are  denominated  by  them  regular  rains.  As 
the  terms  are  extensively  in  use  in  this  country,  we 
must  adhere  to  the  meaning  attached  to  them  here 
rather  than  there. 

Storms  with  us,  then,  are  regular  rains  of  from 
six  to  forty-eight  or  more  hours'  continuance :  gen- 
erally without  lightning,  or  thunder,  or  gusts,  and 
usually  with  wind  of  more  or  less  force,  from  some 
easterly  point.  They  are  called  north-east  storms, 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    THE    WEATHER.       25 

or  south-east  storms,  according  to  the  point  from 
which  the  surface  winds  blow.  Practically  we  shall 
find  that  this  distinction  is  of  some  importance,  for 
the  north-east  storms  are  the  longest,  lasting  gener- 
ally twenty -four  hours,  or  more,  while  the  south-east 
ones  seldom,  if  ever,  continue  as  long. 

These  storms  extend  over  a  considerable  surface, 
rarely  less  than  one  hundred  miles  in  one  direction 
or  another,  and  sometimes  fifteen  hundred,  or  more. 
Distinct  showers  cover  but  a  small  surface,  sometimes 
not  more  than  forty  to  one  hundred  rods,  as  in  the 
tornado,  and  rarely  more  than  ten  miles.  Belts  of 
showers,  each  new  one  forming  a  little  more  to  the 
south,  often,  in  summer,  pass  across  the  country, 
following  each  other  in  succession;  and  these  belts 
may  be  of  considerable  width,  say  thirty  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles. 

The  clouds  which  constitute  the  storms  and  show- 
ers differ  in  appearance  and  character,  as  well  in  the 
active  as  in  the  forming  state.  Clouds  are  of  distinct 
characters,  alike,  substantially,  every  where  under 
like  circumstances ;  and  a  distinct  nomenclature  has 
been  applied  to  them  by  Dr.  Howard,  of  London. 
Se  notes  three  kinds  of  primary  clouds :  viz.,  cirrus, 
stratus,  and  cumulus ;  and  inasmuch  as  the  boundary 
line  between  them  is  not  very  distinct,  certain  com- 
pounds of  the  three,  viz :  cirro-stratus,  cirro-cumulus, 
and  cumulo-stratus.  This  nomenclature  is  every 
where  received,  and  portions  of  it  are  of  great  prac- 
tical importance. 

The  three  principal  descriptions  of  cloud,  viz. :  the 
2 


26  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

cirrus,  the  stratus,  and  the  cumulus,  we  have  very 
much  as  they  have  in  Europe,  and  doubtless  as  they 
exist  every  where  outside  of  the  tropics.  The  nim- 
bus, another  cloud  described  by  him,  is  not  distinct 
from  the  cumulus  or  stratus.  An  isolated,  limited 
thunder-shower  in  a  clear  sky,  presents  the  appear- 
ance of  a  nimbus,  as  shown  in  the  cuts,  but  the 
basis  of  it  is  a  cumulus,  and  it  differs  from  an  ordi- 
nary fair-weather  cumulus  merely  in  the  dark  and 
fringe-like  appearance  of  the  rain  as  it  is  falling  from 
its  lower  surface,  and  sometimes  in  the  existence  of  a 
stratus  above  and  in  connection  with  it.  A  similar 
form  is  often  assumed  by  the  peculiar  'clouds  of  the 
N.  ~W.  winds  in  March  or  November,  when  they 
assume  the  form  of  squalls,  and  drop  flurries  of  snow. 
The  nimbus,  therefore,  is  not  a  distinct  cloud,  .but  an 
appearance  which  the  cumulus,  stratus,  or  cirro-stratus 
has  in  a  stormy  or  showery  state,  and  does  not 
deserve  a  distinct  name.  It  is  but  a  cumulus,  or  a 
stratus,  or  cirro-stratus  dissolving  in  snow  or  rain. 
It  is  important  that  this  term  should  be  abandoned. 
It  tends  to  confuse  and  prevent  a  clear  understanding 
of  the  difference  in  the  character  of  the  clouds,  and 
in  relation  to  which  precision  is  both  difficult  and 
desirable. 

The  figures  on  pages  27  and  29,  show  the  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  clouds  as  designated  by  Howard. 
They  are  copied  from  the  engravings  in  the  sixth 
edition  of  Maury's  "  Sailing  Directions." 


Fig.  6. 


THE    WEATHER.  .     31 

Figure  5. 

The  cirrus  is  indicated  by     ...  1  bird. 

The  cirro-cumulus  by 2     " 

The  cirro-stratus  by 3     ft 

The  cumulo-stratus  by     ....  4     " 

Figure  6. 

The  cirrus  by    .......  1  " 

The  cumulus  by 3  " 

The  stratus  by 2  " 

The  nimbus  by 4  " 

How  far  these  representations  correspond  with  the 
actual  appearance  of  the  different  compound  forms 
in  England,  I  can  not  say.  But  although  they  convey 
a  general  idea,  they  are  not  sufficiently  accurate  for  prac- 
tical illustration  or  observation  here.  Indeed  Howard 
himself  has  omitted  from  his  last  edition  his  plate 
of  the  clouds,  assigning  as  a  reason,  "  that  the  real 
student  will  acquire  his  knowledge  in  a  more  solid 
manner  by  the  observation  of  nature,  without  the 
aid  of  drawings,  and  that  the  more  superficial  are 
liable  to  be  led  into  error  l)y  tfiem"  The  collection  of 
forms  in  the  cuts  does  not  contain  some  very  important 
ones,  and  contains  some  which  are  not  distinct  forms ; 
but  they  may  aid  us  somewhat  in  this  inquiry,  and, 
therefore,  I  have  copied  them.  It  is  well,  also,  for 
the  reader  to  have  the  generally  received  descrip- 
tion before  him. 

But  for  the  purpose  of  practical  illustration  hereafter, 
and  greater  precision,  I  shall  follow  a  somewhat  differ- 


32  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

ent  order  in  describing  them,  and  introduce  two  forms 
of  scud  quite  as  important,  practically,  as  any  other. 

First,  then,  commencing  at  the  earth,  we  have 
what  may  be  properly  termed  fog,  or  low  fog.  This 
forms,  in  still  clear  weather,  in  the  valleys,  and 
over  the  surface  of  the  rivers  and  other  bodies  of 
water,  during  the  night,  and  most  frequently  the 
latter  part  of  it,  and  is  at  its  acme  at  sunrise,  or  soon 
after,  limiting  vision  horizontally  and  perpendicularly, 
and  dissolving  away  during  the  forenoon.  It  is  rarely 
more  than  from  two  to  four  hundred  feet  in  height 
at  its  upper  surface,  and  often  much  less,  and  is  com- 
posed of  vesicular  condensed  vapor,  sometimes 
sufficiently  dense  to  fall  in  mist,  and  is  doubtless 
in  composition  substantially  what  the  clouds  are  in 
the  other  strata  of  the  atmosphere,  as  observed  by 
us,  or  passed  through  by  aeronauts.  I  have  never 
seen  it  carried  up  to  any  considerable  height  into  the 
other  strata  by  any  of  the  supposed  ascending 
currents,  to  form  permanent  clouds,  and  shall  have 
occasion  to  allude  to  the  fact  in  another  connection. 
It  disappears  usually  before  mid-day,  and  has,  when 
thus  formed,  no  connection  with  any  clouds  which 
furnish  rain. 

To  this  Dr.  Howard  originally  gave  the  name  of 
stratus,  and  so  it  is  represented  upon  the  cut ;  but 
the  latter  term  may  be  with  greater  propriety  ap- 
plied to  the  smooth  uniform  cloud  in  the  superior 
strata  from  which  the  rain  or  snow  is  known  to  fall, 
and  I  shall  retain  and  so  apply  it. 

The  next  in  order,  ascending,  is  high  fog.     This 


THE    WEATHER.  ,    33 

is  usually  from  one  to  two  thousand  feet  in  height  at 
its  lower  surface.  It  forms,  like  low  fog,  during  the 
night  and  in  still  weather;  and  is  rarely,  if  ever, 
connected  with  clouds  which  furnish  rain.  It  breaks 
away  and  disappears  between  ten  and  twelve  in  the 
forenoon,  usually  passing  off  to  the  eastward.  This 
fog  is  most  commonly  seen  in  summer  and  autumn, 
particularly  the  latter,  and  unless  distinguished  from 
cloud  will  deceive  the  weather- watcher.  It  is  readily 
distinguishable.  Although  often  very  dense,  obscur- 
ing the  light  of  the  sun  as  perfectly  as  the  clouds 
of  a  north-east  storm,  it  differs  from  them.  It  forms 
in  still  clear  weather,  is  present  only  in  the  morning, 
is  perfectly  uniform,  and,  before  its  dissolution  com- 
mences, without  breaks,  or  light  and  shade,  or  ap- 
parent motion,  and  unaccompanied  by  scud  or  sur- 
face wind.  The  storm  clouds  are  never  entirely 
uniform,  or  without  spots  of  light  and  shade,  by 
which  their  nature  can  be  discerned,  and  rarely,  when 
as  dense  as  high  fog,  without  scud  running  under 
them  and  surface  winds. 

There  is  another  fog  still,  connected  with  rain 
storms,  but  it  does  not  often  precede  them ;  "occurring 
at  all  seasons,  but  most  commonly  in  connection  with 
the  warm  S.  E.  thaws  and  rains  of  winter  and 
spring ;  and  which  usually  comes  on  after  the  rain 
has  commenced  and  continued  for  awhile,  and  the 
easterly  wind  has  abated;  occupying  probably  the 
entire  space  from  the  earth  to  the  inferior  surface  of 
the  rain  clouds  or  stratus.  Practically  this  does  not 
require  any  further  notice.  It  is  an  incident  of 


34  THE    PHILOSOPHYOF 

the  storm.  "When  formed  it  remains  while  the 
storm  clouds  remain,  and  passes  off  with  them.  It 
is  sometimes  exceedingly  dense  in  February  and 
March,  when  it  accompanies  a  thaw,  and  if  there  is 
a  considerable  depth  of  snow,  it  has  the  credit  of 
aiding  essentially  in  its  dissolution. 

Mingled  with  the  smoke  of  London,  it  produced 
there  the  memorable  dark  day  of  the  24th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1832,  and  at  various  other  times  has  produced 
others  of  like  character.  (See  Howard's  Climate  of 
London,  vol.  iii.  pp.  36,  207,  303.)  These  fogs 
have  been  so  dense  there  tFat  every  kind  of  locomo- 
tion was  dangerous,  even  with  lanterns,  at  mid-day. 

The  next  in  order,  ascending,  are  the  storm  scud, 
which  float  in  the  north-east  or  easterly,  south-east  or 
southerly  wind,  before  and  during  storms. 

These,  as  the  reader  will  hereafter  see,  are,  practi- 
cally, very  important  forms  of  cloud  condensation — 
although  they  have  found  no  place  in  any  practical 
or  scientific  description  given  of  the  clouds,  and  are 
not  upon  the  cuts.  They  are  patches  of  foggy  seem- 
ing clouds  of  all  sizes,  more  or  less  connected  to- 
gether by  thin  portions  of  similar  condensation, 
often  passing  to  the  westward,  south-westward,  north- 
westward, or  northward  with  great  rapidity.  Their 
average  height  is  about  half  a  mile,  but  they  often 
run  much  lower.  They  are  usually  of  an  "  ashy 
gray"  color.  The  annexed  cut  shows  one  phase  of 
them,  from  among  many  taken  by  daguerreotype. 
The  arrows  pointing  to  the  west  show  the  scud 
distinguished  from  the  smooth  partially  formed 


THE    WEATHER. 


fetratus  above.  This  view  was  taken  a  few  hours 
prior  to  the  setting  in  of  a  heavy  S.  E.  rain  storm, 
(t  is  a  northerly  view. 


Fig.  7. 


At  about  the  same  height,  but  in  a  different  state 
of  the  atmosphere,  float  the  peculiar  fair-weather 
clouds  of  the  N.  "W".  wind.  They  usually  form  in  a 
clear  sky,  and  pass  with  considerable  rapidity  to  the 
S.  E.  Sometimes  they  are  quite  large,  approaching 
the  cumulus  in  form,  and  white,  with  dark  under 
surfaces,  and  at  others,  in  the  month  of  November 
particularly,  are  entirely  dark,  and  assume  the  char' 
acter  of  squalls  and  drop  flurries  of  snow ;  and  then 
resemble  the  nimbus  of  Howard.  They  assume  at 

2* 


36 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


different  times  and  in  different  seasons,  different  shapes 
like  those  of  the  scud,  the  cumulus,  or  the  stratus. 

They  form  and  float  in  the  peculiar  1ST.  W.  current 
which  is  usually  a  fair-weather  wind,  and  are  never 
connected  with  storms.  In  mild  weather  they  are 
usually  white,  and  in  cold  weather  sometimes  very 
black,  and  at  all  times  differ  in  color  from  the  ashy 
gray  scud  of  the  storm.  This  variety  is  not  repre- 
sented upon  the  general  cuts.  The  annexed  diagram 
shows  one  phase  of  them,  but  they  are  readily  ob- 

Pig.  8. 


servable  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  when  the  K.  W. 
wind  is  prevailing ;  differing  in  appearance  according 
to  the  season.  Let  these,  as  well  as  the  storm  scud, 
be  carefully  observed  and  studied  by  the  reader,  and 
let  no  opportunity  to  familiarize  himself  with  their 


•  •     •         *  •       ,**•••*•••• 
•    •    *•*    •         ••       .    •**•    •*••    •••* 


S  TT.M  M  >:  II      0  IT  Jt  IT  X.  I 


I 


THE    WEATHER.  37 

appearance  be  lost.  A  brief  glance  at  each  recur- 
rence of  easterly  or  north-westerly  wind  will  suffice. 
The  cumuli  appear  in  isolated  clouds  of  every 
size,  or  in  vast  clouds  composed  of  aggregated 
masses,  as  the  peculiar  cloud  of  the  thunder  shower. 
They  form  as  low  down  as  the  scud  or  fair-weather 
cloud  of  the  N.  W.  wind,  which,  for  convenience,  I 
will  call  N~.  W.  scud;  and  often  in  violent  showers, 
and  particularly  in  hail  storms,  extend  up  as  far  as 
the  density  of  the  atmosphere  will  permit  them  to 
form.  Professor  Espy  thinks  he  has  measured  their 
tops  at  an  altitude  of  ten  miles.  Others  have  esti- 
mated their  height,  when  most  largely  developed,  at 
twelve  miles ;  but  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  the 
atmosphere  can  contain  the  moisture  necessary  to 
form  so  dense  a  cloud  at  that  elevation.  It  is  their 
immense  height,  however,  whether  it  be  six,  or  eight, 
or  ten  miles,  together  with  the  sudden  and  violent 
electric  action,  condensing  suddenly  all  the  moisture 
contained  in  the  atmosphere  within  the  space  oc- 
cupied by  the  cloud,  which  produces  such  sud- 
den and  heavy  falls  of  rain  or  hail.  As  the  rain 
drops  or  hail,  when  formed  at  such  an  elevation,  in 
falling  through  the  partially  condensed  vapor  of  the 
cloud  must  necessarily  enlarge  by  accretion  from 
the  particles  with  which  they  come  in  contact,  and 
probably  also  by  attraction,  their  size  when  they 
reach  the  earth,  though  frequently  very  considerable, 
is  not  a  matter  of  astonishment.  The  cumulus  is 
represented  in  the  general  plate  with  sufficient  ac- 
curacy to  show  its  peculiar  character. 


38  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

In  summer,  when  the  air  is  calm,  the  weather 
warm,  and  no  storm  is  approaching,  there  is  always, 
in  the  day  time,  a  tendency  to  the  formation  of  cumuli. 
This  tendency  exhibits  itself  about  ten  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon,  and  they  gradually  form  and  enlarge  until 
about  two  in  the  afternoon ;  and  after  that,  if  they 
do  not  continue  to  enlarge  and  form  showers,  they 
melt  away  and  disappear  before  nightfall.  Some- 
times in  July  and  August  the  atmosphere  will  be 
studded  with  them  at  mid-day,  floating  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  earth  (in  a  level  country), 
gently  and  slowly  away  to  the  eastward.  At  times 
it  may  seem  as  if  they  must  coalesce  and  form 
showers,  yet  they  frequently  do  not,  but  gradually 
melt  away,  as  before  stated. 

The  cumulus  is  the  principal  cloud  of  the  tropics, 
and  is  not  often  seen  with  us  except  in  summer,  or 
when  our  weather  is  tropical  in  character. 

The  engraving  on  the  preceding  page,  shows  a 
phase  of  these  fair-weather  summer  cumuli. 

The  last  in  order  occupying  (with  their  com- 
pounds) the  higher  portions  of  the  atmosphere,  are 
the  cirrus  and  stratus.  The  cirrus  is. often  the  skele- 
ton of  the  other,  and  precedes  it  in  formation. 

These  are  the  proper  clouds  of  the  storm,  in  our 
sense  of  the  term.  While,  however,  the  cirrus  re- 
mains a  cirrus,  it  furnishes  no  rain.  When  it  extends 
and  expands,  and  its  threads  widen  and  coalesce  into 
cirro-stratus  and  stratus,  or  it  induces  a  layer  of 
stratus  below  it,  the  rain  forms. 

The  following  is  Dr.  Howard's  description  of  cirrus : 


THE    WEATHER.  39 

"  Parallel,  flexuous  or  diverging  fibers,  extensible  by 
increase  in  any  or  in  all  directions.  Clouds  in  this 
modification  appear  to  have  the  least  density,  the 
greatest  elevation,  and  the  greatest  variety  of  ex- 
tent and  direction.  They  are  the  earliest  appearance 
after  serene  weather.  They  are  first  indicated  by  a 
few  threads  penciled,  as  it  were,  on  the  sky.  These 
increase  in  length,  and  new  ones  are  in  the  mean 
time  added  to  them.  Often  the  first-formed  threads 
serve  as  stems  to  support  numerous  branches,  which 
in  their  turn,  give  rise  to  others." 

The  illustrations  in  the  general  cut  are  imperfect, 
and  do  not  represent  the  delicate  fibers  of  the  cloud, 
for  it  is  a  difficult  cloud  to  daguerreotype  or  engrave, 
but  the  representation  is  sufficiently  accurate  to  give 
the  reader  a  general  idea  of  the  different  varieties, 
and  enable  him  to  discover  them  readily  by  observa- 
tion. They  are  the  most  elevated  forms,  always  of 
a  light  color,  and  often  illuminated  about  sunset  by 
the  rays  of  the  sun  shining  upon  their  inferior  sur- 
face ;  the  sun,  however,  often  illuminates,  in  like 
manner,  the  dense  forms  of  cirro-stratus,  and  the 
latter,  from  their  greater  density,  are  susceptible  of  a 
brighter  and  more  vivid  illumination. 

The  stratus  is  a  smooth,  uniform  cloud — the  true 
rain  cloud  of  the  storm ;  often  forming  without  much 
cirrus  above,  or  connected  with  it.  It  may  be  seen 
in  its  partially  formed  state  in  the  bank  in  the  west, 
at  nightfall,  or  in  the  circle  around  the  moon  in  the 
night.  When  it  becomes  sufficiently  condensed,  rain 
always  falls  from  it,  but  in  moderation.  If  there  be 


40 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


large  masses  of  scud  running  beneath  it  for  its  drops 
to  fall  through,  (especially  as  is  sometimes  the  case, 
in  two  or  more  currents),  the  rain  may  be  very  heavy. 
But  more  of  this  hereafter. 

Fig.  10. 


The  annexed  cut  shows  the  forming  stratus,  light 
and  thin,  passing  to  the  east,  as  indicated  by  the  short 
arrows  just  before  a  storm,  while  the  scud  beneath 
is  running  to  the  west. 

It  was  copied  from  a  daguerreotype  view,  facing 
northwardly. 

Intermediate  between  the  fibrous,  tufted,  cirrus, 
and  the  smooth  uniform  stratus,  there  is  a  variety 
of  forms  partaking  more  or  less  of  the  character  of 
one  or  the  other,  and  termed  cirro-stratus.  No  single 
correct  representation  of  cirro-stratus  as  a  distinct 


THE    WEATHER,  41 

cloud,  can  be  given — but  several  varieties  will  be 
hereafter  alluded  to,  under  the  head  of  prognostics. 
Several  modifications  are  represented  with  tolerable 
accuracy  upon  the  cuts. 

The  cirro-cumulus  is  a  collection  in  patches  of  very 
small  distinct  heaps  of  white  clouds ;  they  are  called 
fleecy  clouds,  from  their  resemblance  to  a  collection 
of  fleeces  of  wool,  and  are  imperfectly  represented 
on  the  general  cut.  They  do  not  appear  often,  and 
are  usually  fair-weather  clouds. 

This  form  has  none  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
cumulus,  and  does  not  appear  in  the  same  stratum. 
It  was  probably  called  cumulus  because  its  small 
masses  are  distinct,  as  are  those  of  the  ordinary  cumu- 
lus'. It  occurs  in  the  same  stratum  as  cirro-stratus,  and 
properly  belongs  to  that  modification.  I  retain  the 
name  inasmuch  as  the  cloud  is  of  some  practical  im- 
portance. 

The  cumulo-stratus  is  seldom  seen  in  our  climate, 
as  it  is  represented  in  the  cut.  Stratus  condensation 
above,  and  in  connection  with  cumulus  condensation, 
is  not  uncommon,  but  that  precise  form  is  rare. 

This,  too,  is  practically  of  no  consequence,  and  I 
shall  take  no  further  notice  of  it. 

Eecapitulating,  I  give  (in  a  tabular  form)  the  three 
principal  strata  and  their  modifications,  located  with 
sufficient  accuracy  for  illustration.  The  clouds  which 
are  found  in  an  upper  or  lower  portion  of  a  stratum 
are  so  represented  by  the  location  of  their  names ; 
those  which  appear  at  all  heights  in  the  stratum,  with 
the  names  across.  The  elevation  is  the  average  one — 


42       PHILOSOPHY    OF    THE    WEATHER. 

although  there  is  no  limit  to  the  cirrus  above,  except 
the  absence  of  sufficient  moisture.  It  was  seen  by 
Guy  Lussac,  and  has  been  by  other  aeronauts,  at  an 
elevation  of  five  miles,  or  more,  when  too  delicate  to 
be  visible  below. 


Primary 
stratum. 


Scud  & 
cumulus 
stratum. 


Fog 

stratum. 


Cirrus. 


M 

o»  n 


Stratus. 


•       22 

5<     7 

I  I 


High  fog. 


o    o 

i  I 

1 1 


If 


Low  fog  at  the  surface  of  the  earth. 


Smiles, 


li  miles. 


i  mile. 


"With  the  assistance  of  this  table  of  elevations,  and 
a  careful  observation,  the  reader  can  soon  become 
familiar  with  the  forms  of  clouds  and  their  relative 
situations. 


CHAPTER   III. 

HAVING  thus  taken  a  brief  view  of  the  different 
clouds,  let  us  return  to  the  inquiry,  from  what  ocean, 
and  by  what  machinery,  our  "  rivers  return." 

Not  wholly  or  mainly  from  the  North  Atlantic, 
although  it  lies  adjacent  to  us,  and  they  often  seem  to  do 
so ;  for,  first,  all  storms,  showers,  and  clouds,  which 
furnish,  independently,  any  appreciable  quantity  of  rain 
to  the  United  States,  and  even  adjacent  to  the 
Atlantic,  or  indeed  to  the  Atlantic  itself,  come  from  a 
westerly  point,  and  pass  to  the  eastward.  This  is  a 
general,  uniform,  and  invariable  law,  although  there  is  in 
different  places,  and  in  the  same  place  at  different  times, 
some  variation  in  tiieir  direction;  ranging  in  storms 
from  TF1  by  £  to  /S.  £  W.,  and  in  showers  between 
/SI  W.  and  N.  W.,  to  the  opposite  easterly  points  of  the 
compass;  the  most  general  direction,  east  of  the  Allegha- 
nies,  being  from  W.  S.  W.  to  E.  N.  E. 

But  do  we  not  see,  you  inquire — at  least  those  of 
us  who  live  east  of  the  Alleghanies — that  when  it 
rains,  the  wind  is  from  the  eastward;  and  that  the 
clouds  follow  the  wind  from  the  east  to  the  west? 
You  do  indeed,  generally,  in  all  considerable  storms, 
observe  that  the  wind  blows  from  some  easterly  point, 
and  that  seeming  clouds  are  blown  by  it  to  the  west- 


44  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

ward ;  but  what  you  see,  and  call  clouds,  are  not  the 
clouds  which  furnish  the  rain.  Far  above  the  seem- 
ing clouds  you  notice,  directly  over  your  head  when 
it  rains  or  snows,  are  the  rain  or  snow  clouds,  dense 
and  dark,  passing  to  the  eastward,  how  strong  so- 
ever the  wind  may  blow  from  the  quarter  to  which 
they  tend,  or  any  other  quarter,  between  you  and 
them.  What  you  see  below  them  are  scud.  So  the 
sailors  call  them,  and  so  I  have  termed  them.  It  is  a 
"  dictionary  name,"  and  a  good  one,  expressive  of  a 
distinction  between  them  and  clouds.  They  are  thin, 
and  the  sun  shines  through  them,  although  with 
some  difficulty,  when  the  rain  clouds  above  are  ab- 
sent or  broken.  This  east  wind  and  the  scud  are  not 
the  storm,  or  essential  parts  of  it.  Storms  occasionally 
exist,  particularly  in  April,  without  either.  They 
are  but  incidents,  useful,  but  not  necessary  incidents,  as 
all  surface  winds  are. 

If  you  could  see  a  section  of  the  storm,  you  would 
see  the  rain  cloud  above,  moving  to  the  east,  and  the 
scud  beneath  running  to  the  west,  as  indicated  by 
the  arrows  in  the  cut  on  page  40.  Opportunities 
frequently  occur  when  these  appearnces  may  be  seen. 
Storms  are  sometimes  very  long,  a  thousand  miles, 
perhaps,  from  W.  S.  "W.  to  E.  1ST.  E.,  and  not  more 
than  one  to  three  hundred  miles  wide  from  S.  E.  to 
N.  "W.,  and  their  sides,  particularly  the  northern  ones, 
regular,  and  without  extensive  partial  condensation. 
Then  the  storm  cloud  above,  moving  to  the  eastward, 
and  the  scud  running  under  to  the  westward,  may  be 
seen  as  in  the  cut. 


THE    WEATHER.  45 

So  they  may  be  seen  before,  at  the  commence- 
ment, and  at  the  conclusion  of  easterly  storms,  in  a 
majority  of  cases,  and  the  reader  is  desired  to  notice 
them  particularly  as  opportunities  occur. 

The  term  running,  too,  is  a  very  expressive  one, 
used  by  sailors  as  applicable  to  scud.  For  while  the 
forming,  or  formed  storm  clouds  may  be  moving 
moderately  along,  at  the  rate  of  twelve  to  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles  an  hour,  from  about  W.  S.  "W.  to  E.  1ST. 
E.,  the  scud  may  be  running  under  them  in  a  differ- 
ent direction — opposite,  or  diagonal,  or  both — at  the 
rate  of  twenty,  fifty,  sixty,  and,  in  hurricanes,  even 
ninety  miles  an  hour.  You  have  doubtless  seen 
these  scud  running  from  !N".  E.  to  S.  "W.,  and  without 
dropping  any  moisture,  a  day  or  sometimes  two  days, 
before  the  storm  coming  from  the  S.  "W.  reached  the 
place  where  you  were ;  and  then,  sometimes  the  storm 
cloud  slipped  by  to  the  southward,  and  the  expected 
storm  at  that  point  proved  "a  dry  northeaster." 
Sometimes  the  condensation,  although  sufficiently 
dense  to  influence  and  attract  the  surface  atmosphere, 
and  create  an  easterly  wind  and  scud,  does  not  be- 
come sufficiently  dense  to  drop  rain,  and  then,  too, 
we  have  a  dry  northeaster,  which  may  melt  away  or 
increase  to  a  storm  after  it  has  passed  over  us.  / 
have  never  seen,  except,  perhaps,  in  a  single  instance,  one 
of  these  masses  of  scud,  however  dense,  which  had  not  a 
rain  (stratus)  cloud  above  it,  drop  moisture  enough  to 
make  the  eaves  run.  So  you  see  it  may  be  true,  and 
if  you  will  examine  carefully,  you  may  satisfy  your- 
self that  it  is  true,  that  the  storms  all  move  from  a 


46  THE     PHILOSOPHY    OF 

westerly  point  to  the  eastward,  notwithstanding  the 
wind  under  them  is  blowing,  and  the  scud  under 
them  are  running  to  the  westward. 

There  are  many  other  methods  by  which  the 
reader  may  determine  this  matter  himself.  He  may 
catch  an  opportunity  for  a  view,  when  there  is  a 
break  in  the  stratus  cloud  above,  and  the  sun  or 
moon,  no  longer  obscured  by  the  storm  cloud,  shines 
through  the  scud  beneath.  Then  he  may  see  they 
are  moving  in  different  directions.  The  upper  cloud, 
if  there  be  any  of  it  left,  always  to  the  eastward. 

Again,  we  may  see  the  storm  approach  from  the 
westward,  as  it  often  does,  before  the  wind  com- 
mences to  blow,  and  the  scud  to  run  from  the  east- 
ward;  particularly  snow  storms  in  winter,  and  the 
gentle  showers  and  storms  of  spring. 

Again,  thunder  storms,  we  know,  come  from  the 
westward,  and  apparently  against  an  east  wind.  It 
is  sometimes  said  they  approach  from  the  east,  but  it 
is  a  mistake.  During  thirty  years  attentive  observa- 
tion in  different  localities,  I  have  never  seen  an  in- 
stance. They  sometimes  form  over  us,  or  just  east 
of  us;  or  one  may  form  at  the  east  and  another  at  the 
west,  and  as  they  spread  out  in  forming,  one  may 
seem  to  be  coming  from  the  east,  or  there  may  be  an 
easterly  current,  with  dense  flocculent  scud  at  the 
under  surface  of  the  shower  cloud  running  westward, 
but  they  finally  pass  off  to  the  eastward,  and  never 
to  the  westward.  It  is  possible  that  a  patch  of  scud 
may  become  sufficiently  dense  and  electrified  to  make 
a  shower,  but  I  have  never  observed  one.  Such  an 


THE    WEATHER.  47 

apparent  instance  may  be  found  recorded  in  "  Sill- 
man's  Journal,"  vol.  xxx\x,  page  57.  I  have  seen 
the  scud  assume  a  distinct  cumulus  form,  but  never  to 
become  sufficiently  dense  to  make  a  thunder  shower. 

Thunder  and  lightning  sometimes  attend  portions 
of  regular  storms  in  spring  and  autumn,  but  the 
thunder  is  always  heard  first  in  the  west,  and  last  in 
the  east. 

Again,  there  are  admitted  facts  with  which  you 
are  conversant,  which  prove  this  proposition.  When 
it  has  been  raining  all  day,  and  just  at  night  the  storm 
has  nearly  all  passed  over  to  the  eastward,  and  the 
sun  shines  under  the  western  edge  of  it,  and  "sets 
clear"  as  it  is  termed — you  say  that  "  it  will  be  clear  the 
next  day"  "Why  ?  Because  the  storm  will  not  pass 
to  the  westward,  covering  the  sun  and  continuing, 
how  strong  soever  the  wind  may  be  from  the  east ; 
and  because  it  is  passing,  and  will  continue  to  pass 
off  to  the  eastward,  leaving  the  sky  clear.  The 
easterly  wind  will  stop  as  soon  as  the  storm  clouds  have 
passed,  and  it  will  fall  calm,  or  the  wind  will  "  come 
out"  from  the  westward. 

So,  too,  when  the  clouds  are  dark  in  the  west  in  the 
morning,  and  the  sun  rises  clear,  but  "goes  into  a  cloud" 
as  it  is  expressed,  you  say  that  it  will  rain.  And  if  the 
clouds  are  dense  this  generally  proves  true  ;  because 
there  is  a  storm  or  shower  approaching  from  the 
west,  and  passing  over  to  the  east,  the  •western  edge 
of  whose  advance  condensation  has  met  the  sun 
in  his  coming,  and  obscured  him  from  your  vision. 

When,  too,  it  has  been  storming,  and  lights  up  in 


48  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF< 

the  1ST.  W.  you  say  it  will  clear  off;  the  N.  "W".  wind 
will  blow  all  the  clouds  jway.  It  is,  indeed,  gener- 
ally true  that  when  it  so  lights  up  it  is  about  to 
clear  off;  although  it  sometimes  shuts  down  again,  in 
consequence  of  the  approach  of  another  storm  from 
the  westward,  following  closely  behind  the  one  which 
is  passing  off.  It  is  a  great  mistake,  however,  to 
suppose  the  N.  W.  wind  blows  away  the  clouds. 
Watch  the  smooth  stratus  rain  cloud  at  its  lower 
edge,  where  the  clear  sky  is  seen,  and  you  will  see 
that  it  is  moving  on  steadily  to  the  N.  E.,  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  laws  of  its  current,  and  will  do  so,  even 
when  its  retreating  edge  has  passed  up  to  the  zenith, 
and  down  to  the  S.  E. 

The  storm  uncovers  us  from  the  K.  "W.  by  the 
contraction  of  its  width,  or  because  it  has  a  southern 
lateral  extension  and  dissolution,  and  not  by  being 
blown  away  by  the  N".  W.  wind;  although  that 
wind,  by  its  peculiar  fair-weather  clouds,  may  be,  per- 
haps, observed  beneath,  ready  to  follow  its  retreat 
ing  edge. 

Again,  when  it  has  been  clear  all  day,  and  the  sun 
sets  in  a  bank  of  cloud,  you  say — "  it  will  rain  to- 
morrow, the  sun  did  not  set  clear"  and  unless  that 
bank  is  a  thunder  cloud,  merely,  which  will  pass 
over  or  by  you,  with  or  without  rain,  before  morning, 
it  is  generally  true  that  it  will.  The  bank  will  prove 
the  eastern  edge  of  an  approaching  storm. 

From  these  generally  admitted  and  understood 
facts,  you  may  know  that  storms  pass  from  the  west 
to  the  east. 


THE    WEATHER.  49 

This  proposition  is  also  proved  by  all  the  investi- 
gations of  storms,  which  have  taken  place  since  the 
settlement  of  this  country.  Storms  of  great  severity 
attract  particular  attention,  and  are  said  to  "back 
up"  against  the  wind,  because  they  are  observed  to 
commence  storming  first  at  the  westward,  although 
the  wind  is  from  the  eastward.  Doubtless  you  re- 
collect many  such  instances  recorded  in  the  news- 
papers. No  season  occurs  without  such  notices. 

Many  storms  have  been  investigated  by  Mr.  Ked- 
field,  for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  his  theory.  Many 
others  by  Professor  Espy, .  to  sustain  his.  One  by 
Professor  Loomis,  with  great  research  and  ability — 
and  some  by  others,  accounts  of  all  which  have  been 
published;  and  every. one  yet  investigated,  north  of 
the  parallel  of  30°,  has  been  shown  to  pass  from  a 
westerly  to  an  easterly  point. 

So;  too,  we  may  know  it  from  analogy.  The  laws 
of  nature  are  uniform.  There  is  a  great  end  to  be 
accomplished,  viz. :  the  distribution  of  forty  inches 
of  water,  at  regular  intervals,  over  a  large  extent  of 
country.  The  rivers  are  to  return,  and  the  clouds 
arc  to  drop  fatness,  and  seed  time  and  harvest  are 
not  to  cease.  It  is  to  be  done  and  is  done,  by 
means  of  storms  and  showers,  and  pursuant  to  gen- 
eral laws,  as  immutable  as  the  result.  Most  of  these 
storms  and  showers,  it  has  been  found,  and  may  be 
observed,  move  from  the  westward  to  the  eastward. 
Then  we  may  know,  from  analogy,  that  they  do  so 
in  obedience  to  a  general,  uniform  law;  and  so  I 

might  say  with  confidence,  if  our  inquiry  stopped 

3 


50  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

here,  it  will  ever  be  found  by  those  who  may  here- 
after examine  them. 

But,  2d.  There  is  a  current  in  the  atmosphere,  all 
over  the  continent  north  of  the  N.  E.  trades,  but  in 
great  volume  over  the  United  States,  east  of  the 
meridian  of  105°  W.  from  Greenwich — varying  in  dif- 
ferent seasons,  and  upon  different  parallels,  and  flow- 
ing near  the  earth,  when  no  surface  wind  interposes 
between  them.  In  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  the 
usual  course  of  this  current  is  from  about  W.  S.  "W. 
to  E.  N.  E.  In  the  western  and  south-western  por- 
tion of  the  United  States,  it  is,  doubtless,  more 
southerly — varying  somewhat  according  to  the  sea- 
son— and  in  other  sections  varies  in  obedience  to  the 
general  law  of  its  origin,  and  progress. 

I  have  observed  its  course  in  many  places,  between 
the  parallels  of  38°  and  44°  N.  This  current  comes 
from  the  South  Atlantic  Ocean.  It  is  our  portio.n  of 
the  aerial  current,  which  flows  every  where  from  the 
tropics  toward  the  poles,  to  which  I  have  already 
alluded  in  connection  with  the  distribution  of  heat. 
It  brings  to  us  the  twenty  inches  of  rain  which  we  lose 
by  the  rivers,  and  by  the  westerly  loinds,  which  carry  off 
a  portion  of  the  local  moisture  of  evaporation,  and  its 
action  precipitates  tlie  remaining  portion  of  that  moist- 
ure. It  spreads  out  over  the  face  of  our  country,  with 
considerable,  but  not  entire  uniformity.  All  our  great 
storms  originate  in  it,  and  all  our  showers  originate  in 
or  are  induced  and  controlled  by  it. 

From  the  varied  action,  inherent  or  induced,  of  this 
current,  most  of  our  meteorological  phenomena,  whether 


THE    WEATHER.  51 

of  wet  or  dry,  or  cold  or  warm  weather ',  result  'r  and  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  its  origin,  cause,  and  the 
reciprocal  action  between  it  and  the  earth,  is  essential 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  "^Philosophy  of  Hie  Weather." 
•  Let  us  then  go  down  to  the  "  chambers  of  the 
south,"  to  the  inter-tropical  regions,  of  which  we 
have  said  something  in  connection  with  a  notice  of 
Southern  Mexico,  and  see  where,  and  how  this  great 
aerial  current  originates. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BETWEEN  the  parallels  of  35°  north  latitude,  and 
35°  south  latitude — changing  its  location  within  this 
limit  at  different  seasons  of  the  year — encircling  the 
earth,  and  covering  about  one-half  of  its  area — we 
find  the  trade-wind  region.  In  this  region  are  the 
simple  and  uniform  arrangements,  which  extend 
every  where,  and  produce  all  the  atmospheric  phe- 
nomena. In  the  center  of  it  we  find  that  movable 
belt  of  continual  or  daily  rains,  and  comparative 
calms,  particularly  near  its  center,  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  in  width  upon  the  Atlantic,  and  over 
Africa,  and  the  eastern  portions  of  the  Pacific,  and 
something  more  over  South  America  and  the  West 
Indies,  the  western  portion  of  the  Pacific  and  the 
Indian  Ocean,  to  which  we  have  already  alluded. 
This  belt  of  rains  and  calms  follows  the  trades  and 
sun,  in  their*  transit  north  and  south,  from  one  tropic 
to  the  other — its  width  and  extension  depending  upon 
the  volume  of  trade-winds  existing  on  the  sides  of  it. 
Its  southern  edge,  when  the  sun  is  at  the  southern 
solstice,  extends  to  7°  south  in  the  Atlantic,  to  10° 
south  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  still  further,  probably, 
over  South  America :  on  this  point  I  do  not  pretend 
to  be  accurate,  for  accuracy  is  not  essential.  When 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    THE    WEATHER.       53 

the  sun  is  at  the  northern  solstice  the  southern  edge 
is  carried  up  as  far  as  12°  north,  over  the  Atlantic, 
and  still  further  over  the  northern  portions  of  South 
America,  the  "West  Indies,  and  Mexico,  ift  travels, 
therefore,  from  south  to  north,  over  from  twenty  to 
forty  degrees  of  latitude.  The  presence  of  this  belt 
of  rains  over  any  given  portion  of  the  inter-tropics, 
gives  that  portion  its  rainy  season,  and  its  absence, 
as  it  moves  to  the  north,  or  the  south,  gives  the  portion 
from  which  it  has  moved,  its  dry  season.  It  passes 
in  its  transit  twice  each  year  over  some  portions  of 
the  country,  Bogota,  for  instance,  and  two  corre- 
sponding rainy  and  dry  seasons  result.  Its  presence, 
and  character,  and  movements,  are  as  fixed  and  reg- 
ular, over  from  twenty-five  to  forty  degrees  of  the 
earth's  surface,  and  all  around  it,  as  the  presence  and 
movements  of  the  sun  over  the  same  area. 

At  the  northern  edge  of  this  movable  belt  of  rain, 
and  extending  in  some  places,  particularly  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  north  about  20°,  or  about  one  thousand 
four  hundred  miles,  and  in  other  places  a  less  distance, 
the  N.  E.  trade  winds  prevail,  blowing  toward  and 
into  it  from  K  1ST.  E.,  K  E.,  and  E.  K  E.,  averag- 
ing about  N.  E.  At  the  south  line  of  this  belt 
of  rains,  extending  south  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
degrees,  or  from  sixteen  hundred  to  two  thousand 
miles,  the  S.  E.  trades  blow  toward  and  into  it,  from 
the  S.  E.,  S.  S.  E.,  or  E.  S.  E.,  averaging  about  S.  E. 
Of  course  the  northern  limit  of  the  K.  E.  trades 
travels  north  and  south  with  the  belt  of  rain,  toward 
which  it  blows ;  and  so  the  southern  limit  of  the  S.  E. 


54  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

trades  travel  in  like  manner  with  the  rainy  belt,  or 
rather,  to  speak  with  entire  accuracy,  the  belt  of  rain 
moves  with  the  trades,  and  the  trades  follow  the  ver- 
ticality  o§  the  sun.  The  following  diagrams  exhibit 
approximately,  and  with  sufficient  accuracy  for  illus- 
tration, the  situations  of  the  rainy  belt  and  the  trades, 
when  at  their  nprthern  and  southern  limit,  as  well  as 
the  manner  in  which  it  must  give  certain  localities 
two  rainy  seasons  each  year,  in  its  transit  north  and 
south. 

At  the  northern  and  southern  limits  of  the  trade- 
winds,  and  extending  from  them  to  the  poles,  are 
found  the  variable  winds  and  irregular  extra-tropi- 
cal rains,  all  over  the  earth,  which  are  shown  by  the 
shading  on  the  maps.  This  line  of  extra-tropical 
rains  descends  to  the  south,  following  the  retreating 
trades  as  they  descend  in  our  winter,  and  recedes 
north  before  the  trades  when  they  return  in  spring 
and  summer,  so  that  at  the  outer  limit  of  the  trades 
respectively,  toward  the  poles,  the  line  of  extra- 
tropical  rains  will  be  found,  receding  or  following 
that  limit,  as  the  trades  pass  up  and  down  with  the 
sun.  From  the  north  pole  to  the  northern  limit  of 
the  N".  E.  trade-winds,  wherever  found,  whether  at 
38°  north  latitude,  as  in  some  places  in  summer 
when  the  sun  is  at  the  tropic  of  Cancer ;  or  whether 
at  20°  to  30°  north  latitude,  as  in  our  winter,  when 
the  sun  is  at  the  tropic  of  Capricorn ;  the  extra-tropi- 
cal rains  prevail.  A  state  of  things  precisely  similar 
exists  between  the  south  pole  and  the  southern  limit  of 
the  S.  E.  trades.  Between  this  northern  limit  of  the 


Fig.  10. 


Fig.  11. 


THE    WEATHER.  59 

N.  E.s  trades  and  the  northern  line  of  the  inter- 
tropical  belt  of  rains,  wherever  situated  (with  two 
exceptions,  to  which  we  have  alluded  and  shall 
allude  again),  there  is,  for  the  time  being,  a  dry  season : 
and  a  like  dry  season  between  the  southern  line  of 
the  belt  of  rains  and  the  southern  limit  of  the  S.  E. 
trades.  We  have,  therefore,  extending  around  the 
earth,  a  .belt  of  daily  tropical  rains,  near  the  center, — 
two  belts  of  drought  which  are  mainly  trade-wind 
surfaces,  one  on  each  side  of  the  central  rainy  belt, — - 
extending  to  the  outward  limits  of  the  trades  and  the 
line  of  extr^tropical  rains ;  and  these  rainy  and  dry 
belts,  moving  up  and  down  after  the  sun,  a  distance- 
of  from  twenty  to  forty  degrees  of  latitude,  each  year. 
Such  are  the  main  phenomena,  at  the  surface,  in  the 
trade- wind  region.  Ascending  a  step  higher  in  the  at- 
mosphere, we  find,  above  the  surface-trades,  a  counter- 
trade, running,  not  in  the  opposite  direction,  but  at 
right  angles,  or  nearly  so.  The  counter-trade  which 
issues  from  the  northern  side  of  the  rainy  belt, 
running  to  the  K.  TV.  or  TV.  N.  TV.,  and  the  counter 
trade  which  issues  from  the  southern  side,  running 
to  the  S.  TV.  or  "W.  S.  TV.,  varying,  as  the  trades  do 
in  direction  in  different  localities.  These  counter- 
trades are  continuations  of  the  surface  trades,  which, 
ascending  in  their  course,  have  threaded  their  way 
through  the  opposite  trade  in  the  rainy  belt,  and  are 
continuing  on  at  the  same  ang1?,  and  in  the  same 
direction  at  which  they  blew  upon  the  surface,  and  in 
obedience  to  the  same  law.  This  is  apparent  from 
several  considerations. 


60  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

1st.  They  issue  at  the  same  angle,  and  over  the  top 
of  the  surface  trades.  In  the  West  Indies  and  else- 
where, this  has  been  ascertained  and  proved  by  the 
course  of  the  storms,  and  the  rotation  of  their  sur- 
face winds,  and  observation. 

2d.  We  can  not  suppose  the  N.  E.  trade  to  be 
reflected,  and  turn  back  over  itself  at  a  right  angle. 
That  would  be  impossible,  even  if  there  were  a  wall 
of  solid  material  there  for  it  to  blow  against.  Air 
is  a  peculiar  fluid,  and  it  stratifies  with  astonishing 
ease.  He  who  supposes  that  a  current  of  air  put  in 
motion  can  be  turned  aside  by  another  current,  or 
Toy  the  atmosphere  at  rest,  or  can  be  mflfe  to  mingle, 
is  mistaken.  It  will  stratify,  and  force  itself  onward 
through  the  adjacent  and  opposing  atmosphere,  and 
in  a  right  line.  I  have  observed  some  remarkable 
instances  of  this  character. 

3d.  The  cause  which  operates  to  produce  the  sur- 
face trades,  still  operates  upon  the  current  to  carry  it 
over  into  the  other  hemisphere ;  a  counter-trade,  as 
we  shall  see.  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  to  believe 
that  the  surface -trades  as  they  arrive  at  the  belt  of 
rains  and  calms,  turn  at  a  right  angle,  or  at  any 
angle,  and  return :  and  impossible  to  doubt  that 
they  pass  through  each  other  in  this  belt,  and  out 
at  the  opposite  side,  as  upper  currents,  at  the  same 
angle  at  which  -they  entered.  Of  course  the  N.  E. 
trade  of  the  Atlantic  becomes  the  K.  E.  counter- 
trade of  South  America,  carrying  their  storms  in  a 
S.  W.  direction,  and  the  S.  E.  trade  of  the  Atlantic 
the  S.  E.  counter-trade  of  the  West  Indies,  carrying 


THE    WEATHER.  61 

all  their  storms  in  a  N.  "W.  direction ;  and  what  is 
true  of  them  is  true  of  the  trade  winds  every  where, 
all  over  the  globe,  over  the  land  and  over  the  sea. 

Doubtless  here  some  one  will  say,  our  upper  cur- 
rent is  a  S.  W.  current.  True,  the  S.  E.  trade  whicfc 
enters  the  belt  of  rains,  and  issues  out  on  the  north,  a 
S.  E.  upper  current  or  counter-trade,  keeps  that  course 
until  it  arrives  at  the  northern  limit  of  the  surface 
trade,  when,  in  obedience  to  another  law,  which  we  shall 
notice,  it  gradually  decends  near  the  surface,  curves  to 
the  eastward,  and  becomes  the  S.  W.  current  which 
passes  over  us.  And  so  we  have  the  S.  E.  trade-wind 
of  the  South  Atlantic,  with  its  moisture,  warmth, 
electricity,  and  polarity,  over,  and  perhaps  some- 
times around  us,  dropping  the  electric  rain  which 
makes  glad  our  fields ;  giving  us,  when  not  prevented 
by  other  conditions,  the  balmy  air  of  spring,  the 
Indian  summer  of  autumn,  and  the  mild  mitigating 
changes  of  winter;  and  thus,  our  rivers,  which  run,  into 
the  sea,  return  to  us  again. 

But  let  us  go  back  to  the  trade- wind  region — the 
region  of  regularity  and  uniformity — and  examine 
somewhat  more  attentively  its  features,  that  we  may 
more  fully  understand  the  character  of  this  counter- 
trade. 

Here  are  60°  at  least  of  the  180°  of  the  earth's 
surface,  and  at  its  largest  diameter,  covered  in  the 
course  of  the  year,  and  of  their  travels,  by  the 
trade- winds  at  the  surface,  the  counter-trades  above, 
and  the  belt  of  rains  and  comparative  calms,  formed 
by  the  action  of  the  opposite  trades,  as  they  thread 


62  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

their  way  through  each  other,  to  assume  the  relation 
of  counter-trades.  Truly  the  magnitude,  simplicity, 
and  regularity  of  this  machinery  are  most  wonderful. 

There  are,  however,  some  apparent  anomalies 
^fhich  deserve  attention.  Here  aro  most  distinctly 
marked  the  rainy  and  dry  seasons,  existing  side  by  side. 
Here  are  the  rainless  portions  of  the  earth,  already  but 
briefly  alluded  to  ;  here  the  monsoons,  and  another 
peculiarity,  viz.:  the  gathering  of  the  counter-trades 
upon  the  western  sides  of  the  two  great  oceans,  into 
two  aerial  currents  of  greater  volume,  analogous  some- 
what to  the  two  gulf  streams  of  those  oceans.  Let 
us  examine  these  anomalies. 

The  rainy  and  dry  seasons  depend,  as  we  have 
seen,  upon  the  transit  north  and  south  of  the  rainy 
belt,  or  belt  of  comparative  calms.  Wherever  this 
belt  may  happen  on  any  given  day  to  be  situated, 
each  side  of  it  the  trades  prevail,  it  is  drj^,  the  earth 
is  parched,  and  vegetation  withers.  These  changes 
are  graphically  described  by  Humboldt  in  his  "  Views 
of  Nature,"  as  they  occur  on  the  northern  portions 
of  South  America,  as  follows :  "  When,  beneath 
the  vertical  rays  of  the  bright  and  cloudless  sun  of 
the  tropics,  the  parched  sward  crumbles  into  dust, 
then  the  indurated  soil  cracks  and  bursts,  as  if  rent 
asunder  by  some  mighty  earthquake.  The  hot  and 
dusty  earth  forms  a  cloudy  vail,  which  shrouds  the 
heavens  from  view,  and  increases  the  stifling  oppres- 
sion of  the  atmosphere ;  while  the  east  wind  (i.  e. 
trade- wind),  when  it  blows  over  the  long  heated  soil, 
instead  of  cooling,  adds  to  the  burning  glow. 


THE    WEATHER.  63 

"  Gradually,  too,  the  pools  of  water,  which  had 
been  protected  from  evaporation  by  the  now  seared 
foliage  of  the  fan-palm,  disappear.  As  in  the  icy 
north  animals  become  torpid  from  cold,  so  here  the 
crocodile  and  the  boa-constrictor  lie  wrapped  in  un- 
broken sleep,  deeply  buried  in  the  dried  soil.  Every 
where  the  drought  announces  death,  yet  every  where 
the  thirsty  wanderer  is  deluded  by  the  phantom  of  a 
moving,  undulating,  watery  surface,  created  by  the 
deceptive  play  of  the  reflected  rays  of  light  (the 
mirage).  A  narrow  stratum  separates  the  ground 
from  the  distant  palm-trees,  which  seem  to  hover 
aloft,  owing  to  the  contact  of  currents  of  air  .having 
different  degrees  of  heat,  and  therefore  of  density. 
Shrouded  in  dark  clouds  of  dust,  and  tortured  by 
hunger  and  burning  thirst,  oxen  and  horses  scour  the 
plain,  the  one  belowing  dismally,  the  other  with  out- 
stretched necks  snuffing  the  wind,  in  the  endeavor 
to  detect,  by  the  moisture  in  the  air,  the  vicinity  of 
some  pool  of  water  not  yet  wholly  evaporated. 

"  Even  if  the  burning  heat  of  day  be  succeeded 
by  the  cool  freshness  of  the  night,  here  always  of 
equal  length,  the  wearied  ox  and  horse  enjoy  no 
repose.  Huge  bats  now  attack  the  animals  during 
sleep,  and  vampyre-like  suck  their  blood ;  or,  fasten- 
ing on  their  backs,  raise  festering  wounds,  in  which 
mosquitos,  hippobosces,  and  a  host  of  other  stinging 
insects,  burrow  and  nestle.  Such  is  the  miserable 
existence  of  these  poor  animals,  when  the  heat  of 
the  sun  has  absorbed  the  waters  from  the  surface  of 
the  earth. 


64:  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

"  When,  after  a  long  drought,  the  genial  season  of 
rain  arrives,  the  scene  suddenly  changes.  The  deep 
azure  of  the  hitherto  cloudless  sky  assumes  a  lighter 
hue.  Scarcely  can  the  dark  space  in  the  constellation 
of  the  Southern  Cross  be  distinguished  at  night. 
The  mild  phosphorescence  of  the  Magellanic  clouds 
fades  away.  Even  the  vertical  stars'  of  the  constel- 
lations Aquila  and  Ophiuchus,  shine  with  a  flicker- 
ing and  less  planetary  light.  Like  some  distant 
mountain,  a  single  cloud  is  seen  rising  perpen- 
dicularly on  the  southern  horizon.  Misty  vapors 
collect  and  gradually  overspread  the  heavens,  while 
distant  thunder  proclaims  the  approach  of  the  vivi- 
fying rain.  Scarcely  is  the  surface  of  the  earth 
moistened,  before  the  teeming  steppe  becomes  cover- 
ed with  Killingiae,  with  the  many-panicled  Paspalum, 
and  a  variety  of  grasses.  Excited  by  the  power  of 
light,  the  herbaceous  Mimosa  unfolds  its  dormant, 
drooping  leaves,  hailing,  as  it  were,  the  rising  sun  in 
chorus  with  the  matin  song  of  the  birds,  and  the 
opening  flowers  of  aquatics.  Horses  and  oxen, 
buoyant  with  life  and  enjoyment,  roam  over  and 
xie  p  the  plains.  The  luxuriant  grass  hides  the  beau- 
tiful and  spotted  jaguar,  who,  lurking  in  safe  conceal- 
ment, and  carefully  measuring  the  extent  of  the  leap, 
darts,  like  the  Asiatic  tiger,  with  a  cat-like  bound  on 
his  passing  prey." 

Such  is  Humboldt's  description  of  the  dry  season 
on  the  Orinoco,  and  the  return  of  the  belt  of  rains 
from  the  south. 

Again,    within    this   trade-wind    region    are    the 


THE    WEATHER.  65 

rainless  countries.  These  are  portions  of  the  earth 
which  the  equatorial  rainy  belt  does  not  ascend  far 
enough  north  in  summer  to  cover,  nor  does  the 
southern  edge  of  the  extra-tropical  regular  rains 
descend,  in  winter,  far  enough  south  to  cover  them, 
and  where,  of  course,  rain  seldom,  if  ever,  falls. 
Such  are  the  central  parts  of  the  Desert  of  Sahara, 
Egypt,  Arabia,  portions  of  Afghanistan,  Beloochis- 
tan,  and  the  western  parts  of  Hindoostan,  to  the 
north  of  the  inter-tropical  belt,  and  a  similar  state  of 
things  exists  south  of  the  equator  in  parts  of  South 
America,  Africa,  and  New  Holland,  although  upon  a 
comparatively  small  surface. 

Again,  another  anomaly  is  the  gathering  of  the 
trade  winds  into  greater  volumes,  on  the  westerly 
side  of  the  great  oceans,  and  the  consequent  carry- 
ing of  the  equatorial  rainy  belt  up  to  the  region  of 
extra-tropical  rains,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  great 
continents  of  Asia  and  North  America,  and  the 
peculiar  liability  of  these  aerial  gulfs  to  hurricanes 
and  typhoons.  Such  an  aerial  gulf  gathers  over  the 
Caribbean  Sea,  and  the  West  Indies.  Passing  across 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  it  enters  over  Texas,  and  Louino 
siana,  and  the  other  southern  states ;  its  western  edge 
passing  north  in  autumn  and  winter,  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  highlands  of  Western  Texas,  New  Mexico, 
and  the  Great  Desert ;  curving,  as  all  counter-trades 
do,  to  the  eastward  as  soon  as  it  passes  the  limit  of 
the  N.  E.  trades,  and  spreading  out  over  our  favored 
country,  leaving  the  evidence  of  its  pathway  in  the 
greater  quantities  of  rain,  which  fall  annually  upon 


66  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

its  surface.  This  gathering  deprives  a  portion  of  the 
Atlantic,  north  of  the  tropics,  of  its  share  of  the 
counter  trade,  and  there,  as  every  where,  where  the 
volume  of  counter-trade  is  small,  storms  and  gales 
are  infrequent,  and  of  less  force,  and  comparative 
calms  prevail.  That  portion  of  the  Atlantic  has 
long  been  known  as  "the  horse  latitudes,"  a  name 
given  to  it  by  our  Yankee  sailors,  because,  there,  in 
former  times,  the  old-fashioned,  low-decked,  flat- 
bottomed,  horse-carrying  craft  of  New  England, 
bound  for  the  West  Indies,  often  floundered  about 
in  the  calms  and  baffling  winds,  until  their  animals 
perished  for  want  of  water,  and  were  thrown  over- 
board. Lieutenant  Maury,  in  his  most  praiseworthy 
and  exceedingly  useful  investigation  of  "  The  Winds 
and  Currents  of  the  Ocean,"  has  defined  the  situation 
of  these  calms  and  baffling  winds  at  different  seasons 
— for  they  move  up  and  down,  of  course,  with  the 
motion  of  the  whole  machinery — and  enabled  navi- 
gators to  avoid  them,  by  running  east  before  they 
attempt  to  make  southing  ;  and  very  materially  short- 
ened the  voyages  to  the  equator. 

A  like  gathering,  in  volume,  of  the  S.  E.  trade,  on 
the  western  side  of  the  Pacific,  enters  over  Asia,  and 
covers  China  and  Malaysia,  extending,  in  its  western 
course,  nearly  as  far  as  the  western  edge  of  Hin- 
doostan.  In  this  concentrated  volume  of  counter- 
1  trade,  and  owing  to  its  concentrated  action,  form  and 
float  the  typhoons  of  the  China  Sea,  and  of  the  Bay 
of  Bengal;  and  to  this  anomalous  aerial  gulf  stream, 
the  S.  E.  portions  of  Asia,  from  the  western  desert 


THE    WEATHEE.  67 

of  Hindoostan,  to  the  eastern  portion  of  China,  north 
of  the  rainy  belt,  owe  their  great  supply  of  moisture 
and  fertility7,  and  their  peculiar  climate.  The  west- 
ern line  of  this  volume  of  counter- trade  is  marked 
by  the  eastern  portion  of  the  rainless  region  of  Beloo- 
chistan,  and  the  north-western  deserts  of  India, 
as  the  western  edge  of  our  concentrated  volume 
of  counter-trade,  is  marked  by  the  arid  plains  of 
northern  Mexico,  western  Texas,  and  New  Mexico. 
On  the  south  of  the  equatorial  rainy  belt,  there  is  no 
corresponding  aerial  gulf  of  equal  volume,  as  there  is 
no  corresponding  gulf  stream  of  equal  magnitude. 
On  the  western  side  of  the  Indian  Ocean  we  find  a 
gathering  of  the  N.  E.  trades  from  the  Bay  of  Bengal 
and  the  Indian  Ocean,  in  which  form  and  travel  the 
hurricanes  which  prevail — traveling  to  the  southward 
and  westward — about  the*  Isle  of  France  or  Mauri- 
tius ;  and  the  lagullus  oceanic  current,  which  runs 
down  to  the  S.  "W.  toward  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  But  the  extension  of  South  America  to  the 
eastward,  under,  or  just  south  of  the  N.  E.  trades, 
does  not  permit  the  formation  of  such  a  concentrated 
volume  on  the  western  side  cT  the  Atlantic,  nor  is 
the  strength  or  regularity  of  the  N.  E.  trades,  on  that 
ocean,  equal  to  those  of  the  S.  E. 

Nor  is  the  magnetic  intensity  on  the  eastern  and 
middle  portions  of  the  Pacific,  sufficient  to  pro- 
duce such  a  concentration,  in  large  volume,  there. 
The  trades  over  that  ocean,  therefore,  curve  without 
concentration,  except  &  partial  one,  over  the  western 
groups  of  Polynesia,  which  the  Asiatic  line  of  mag- 


68  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

netic  intensity  approaches  and  where  hurricanes  are 
sometimes  found,  until  we  arrive  near  the  eastern 
line  of  magnetic  intensity,  on  the  eastern  side  of 
Asia.     We  shall,  hereafter,  have  occasion  to  follow 
the   anomalous  concentrated  volumes   of  the  S.  E. 
counter-trade,  of  the  northern  tropic,  on  the  western 
side  of  the  great  oceans,  in  explanation  of  some  of 
the  phenomena  which  we  find  north  of  the  trade- wind 
region.     Suffice  it  here  to  add,  that  if  it  were  not 
for  the  concentration  of  these  counter-trades,  on  the 
western  side  of  the  great  oceans,  the  rainless  region 
between  the  parallels  of  20°  and  30°  would  encircle 
the  earth ;  and  China  and  the  Eastern  United  States 
would  have  a  distinctly  marked  rainy  and  dry  season, 
as  have  California,  the  Barbary  States,  Syria,  Persia, 
and  other  countries  which  lie  north  of  the  rainless 
region,  within  the  summer -range  of  the  K.  E.  trades, 
but  also  within  the  winter  descending  range  of  the 
belt  of  extra-tropical  rains. 

Another  anomaly  which  we  find  in  the  trade- wind 
region,  is  the  monsoon.  There  are  several  of  them, 
but  they  are  found,  in  the  greatest  strength  and  regu- 
larity, in  the  Indian  Ocean.  Another,  defined  by  the 
investigations  of  Maury,  is  found  on  the  west  coast 
of  Africa,  extending  out  over  the  Atlantic.  Another 
prevails  on  the  western  coast  of  South  and  Central 
America.  The  etesian  winds  of  the  Mediterranean 
are  but  the  N.  E.  trades,  whose  northern  limit  is 
carried  up  in  summer,  by  the  transit  of  the  connected 
machinery,  to  the  north,  over  -that  sea.  The  N.  E. 
and  S.  E.  monsoons,  so  called,  of  the  Indian  Ocean, 


THE    WEATHER.  69 

are  but  the  regular  trades,  blowing  when  the  belt  of 
rains  is  absent,  as  they  do  all  over  the  globe.  The 
X.  W.  monsoon,  south  of  the  equator,  in  the  vicinity 
of  New  Holland ;  the  S.  "W".  monsoon  which  blows 
from  the  Arabian  Sea,  in  upon  Hindoostan ;  the 
S.  W.  monsoon  of  the  Atlantic,  south  of  the  Cape 
De  Verde  Islands ;  and  the  variable  west  monsoon 
winds  of  the  west  coast  of  Southern  and  Central 
America,  and  Southern  Mexico  (known  under  several 
different  names,  but  chiefly  by  that  of  Tapayaguas), 
are  all  that  deserve  attention  as  such. 

At  first  sight  they  appear  to  be  anomalies,  but  the 
facts  declare  their  character  with  perfect  certainty. 
First,  they  are  not  continuous,  like  the  trades,  but 
prevailing  winds,  and  are  storfti  winds  •  they  always 
blow  toward  a  region,  or  portion  of  the  ocean,  covered  at 
the  time  by  clouds  and  falling  weather. 

Second,  they  do  not  blow  upon,  or  toward,  heated 
surfaces  of  land  or  water — i.  e.,  toward  the  dry  and 
parched  surfaces,  where  the  dry  season  prevails,  or 
from  adjoining  cold  waters  on  to  warm  surfaces,  but 
toward  the  land  or  water  situated  under  the  rainy  belt. 
They  are  therefore  incident  storm  winds,  (as  our 
easterly  winds  are  incident  storm  winds)  of  the  rain 
clouds  of  the  tropics.  They  blow  in  upon  the  land, 
under  the  belt  of  rains,  while  that  belt  with  its  daily 
cloud,  and  inducing  electric  action,  is  over  it,  and 
follow  that  belt  in  its  transit  north  and  .south.  They 
blow  from  the  warm  south  polar  current  of  the 
Atlantic,  which  flows  N.  "W.  from  the  coast  of  Africa, 
toward  the  inshore  north  polar  current,  which  is 


70  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

there  flowing  south,  but  under  the  belt  of  rains. 
In  the  Indian  Ocean  they  blow  from  the  center  of 
that  ocean,  and  the  Arabian  Sea,  toward  the  belt 
which  hangs  over  Hindoostan,  from  the  S.  "W. ;  and 
when  the  rainy  belt  travels  south  they  still  blow 
toward,  and  under  it,  from  the  Indian  Ocean,  but  of 
course  from  the  JST.  "W.  The  heated  character  of  the 
waters  of  the  Indian  Ocean  and  Arabian  Sea,  which  re- 
ceive no  polar  currents,  but  heated  waters  from  the 
Persian  Gulf,  and  from  rivers  which  flow  into  the  Bay 
of  Bengal  over  the  heated  plains  of  a  tropical  country, 
explain  this.  So,  too,  the  monsoon  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  does  not  blow  north,  of  the  Cape  De  Verde 
Islands, — where  the  heated  surface  of  Sahara,  burning 
with  the  rays  of  a  vertical  sun,  has  a  temperature  some- 
times ranging  from  one  hundred  and  forty  to  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  degrees — but  remains  under  the  rainy 
belt,  drawn  from  the  heated  waters  which  flow  up  from 
the  South  Atlantic,  and  travels  north  as  the  rainy 
belt  travels  north  in  summer,  and  south  to  the  Gulf 
of  Guinea,  as  that  travels  south  in  winter.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  Pacific  monsoon,  the  Tapayaguas, 
the  least  marked  of  all,  which  blows  in  during  the 
rainy  season  upon  the  west  coast  of  Southern  Mexico, 
and  of  Southern  and  Central  America.  They  are 
all  incident  rain  or  storm  winds,  blowing  in  upon 
the  land,  or  on  to  a  colder  surface  of  different  polarity, 
during  the  rainy  season  /  and  if  it  were  possible  to 
catch  one  of  our  north-easters,  in  its  passage  over  our 
country  to  the  eastward,  and  anchor  it  to  the  Allegha- 
nies,  "  paying  out"  so  to  have  it  reach  in  part  over 


THE    WEATHER.  71 

the  Atlantic,  and  keep  it  there  in  operation  six 
months,  we  should  have  a  continual  easterly  wind 
under  it;  a  monsoon  more  strongly  marked  than 
the  monsoons  of  the  Indian,  or  Atlantic  Oceans. 
TJie  received  theory  in  relation  to  them  is  a  fallacy. 

Recapitulating,  then,  all  the  phenomena,  we  have, 
— Surface-trades,  blowing  toward  the  center,  passing 
through  each  other,  and  continuing  on  as  upper  or 
counter-trades;  a  belt  of  rains,  with  calms  near  the 
center,  formed  by  the  trades  where  they  meet  and 
pass  through  each  other,  which  travels  with  them 
north  and  south  following  the  sun;  two  belts  of 
drought,  following  the  belt  of  rains  and  the  trades, 
and  followed  by  the  eatfra-tropical  line  of  rains,  as  it 
travels  with  the  trades  and  the  rainy  belt,  leaving 
a  part  of  the  earth  which  the  equatorial  rainy  belt 
does  not  travel  far  enough  north,  nor  the  extra- 
tropical  line  of  rains  far  enough  south  to  cover,  and 
which  is  consequently  a  rainless  region  ;  the  monsoons, 
which  are  but  incidents  of  the  rainy  belt,  and  the 
gathered  volumes  of  counter-trade,  on  the  west  of  the 
two  great  oceans,  which  usurp  the  place  of  the  N. 
E.  trades,  carrying  the  rainy  belt  up  to  the  region 
of  extra-tropical  rain,  and  preventing  the  rainless 
region  from  encircling  the  earth. 

Upon  what  cause  do  these  great  central  phenomena, 
so  vast,  so  regular,  so  wonderful,  depend  ?  What  is 
the  motive  power  of  this  connected  atmospheric 
machinery,  whose  action  and  influence  extend  over 
the  entire  globe  ? 

" Heat,  heat"  say  the  text  books,  the  Professors, 


72  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

the  votaries  of  meteorology.  "  All  these  phenomena 
are  owing  to  the  heat  of  the  sun.  It  heats  the  ocean 
and  the  earth — the  air  is  thereby  heated  and  rises, 
the  cold  air  rushes  in  from  below,  then  the  ascended 
current  rolls  off  each  way  at  the  top  toward  the  pole, 
acquiring  a  westerly  motion  from  the  rotation  of  the 
earth,  slipping  away  from  under  it,  and  a  different, 
viz.:  an  easterly  motion,  after  reaching  the  latitude 
of  30°,  from  the  same  rotation  ;  and  all  the  winds  and 
disturbances  of  the  atmosphere  are  produced  in  the 
same  way.  They  are  produced  by  the  action  of 
heated  surfaces  upon  the  adjacent  atmosphere." 

This  is  the  great  theory  of  meteorologists,  by  which 
they  attempt  to  account  for  the  various  atmospheri- 
cal disturbances,  of  both  tropical  and  extra-tropical 
regions. 

The  whole  theory  is  a  fallacy — it  will,  not  stand 
the  test  of  a  careful  examination.  The  bases  of  the 
theory,  which  are  assumed  to  be  facts,  are  not  so. 
The  agent  has  not  the  power  claimed  for  it.  A 
heated  surface,  alone,  never  caused  any  considerable 
ascending  current,  or  if  it  did,  never  produced  a  mile 
of  wind.  I  repeat  it,  the  theory  and  all  incidental 
ones — the  thousand  explanatory  and  modifying  the- 
ories, and  hypotheses — the  whole  system — is  without 
foundation  in  fact,  and  will  not  bear  a  critical 
examination. 

Let  us  see  if  this  language  is  stronger  than  the 
facts  will  warrant. 

The  theory  assumes  that  both  the  land  and 
water,  under  this  central  belt,  where  the  air  is  sup- 


THE    WEATHER.  ?3 

posed  to  be  rising  are  materially  hotter  than  the  land 
and  ocean  are  on  either  side  of  it.  Now,  how  much 
hotter  are  the  air  and  the  land  under  the  belt  of  rains 
and  calms,  upon  Hindoostan,  or  Africa,  or  South 
America,  where  the  former  is  supposed  to  be  ac- 
quiring heat  and  expansion  so  rapidly,  and  to  be 
ascending,  than  under,  and  in  the  dry  belts  on  either 
side  ?  None ;  it  is  cooler  by  the  thermometer — much 
cooler. 

The  central  belt  of  rains  in  midsummer  over 
Africa,  extends  up  as  far  as  17°  north  latitude,  and 
perhaps  further.  North  of  this  line  over  the  whole 
surface  of  the  desert,  the  Barbary  States,  a  part  of 
the  Mediterranean,  and  some  portion  of  Italy,  the 
dry  season  extends,  and  from  the  entire  surface  the 
N.  E.  trade  blow  into  the  central  belt.*  Over  the  des- 
ert they  all  pass.  Now  this  desert  is  a  sea  of  sand, 
under  a  vertical  sun,  intensely  heated,  blistering  tho 
skin  with  which  it  comes  in  contact,  and  often  ac- 
quiring a  temperature  of  150°  to  160°  of  Fahren- 
heit Under  the  central  belt  of  rains  neither  the 
earth  nor  air  exceed  the  temperature  of  84°.  And 
}Tet  the  hot  air  of  the  desert  does  not  ascend,  but 
blows  into  this  cooler  central  belt ;  and  when  it  is  felt 
as  it  blows  off  the  western  coast  by  the  mariner,  or 
even  in  Guinea,  when  the  belt  of  rains  has  gone 
south  in  winter,  as  it  often  is  as  the  harmattan,  it  is 
suffocating  and  intolerable.  There,  then,  not  only  is 
it  untrue,  that  the  land  and  the*  air  over  it  under  the 
rainy  belt  are  hotter,  but  it  is  true  that  intensely 

*  See  tho  diagram  for  summer  at  page  55. 


74  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

heated  air  blows  horizontally  from  the  Desert  of 
Sahara.  Nay,  as  it  will  appear  in  the  sequel,  this 
hottest  of  all  surfaces  not  only  can  not  have  a  vortex, 
but  it  can  not  induce  a  monsoon,  and  scarcely  a  sea 
breeze.  The  same  is  true  in  a  great  degree  of  the 
surface,  and  the  air  over  it,  on  either  side  of  the  sup- 
posed vortex  of  the  rainy  belt  upon  South  America. 
See  the  description  of  Humboldt,  already  given, 
where  the  thermometer  stood  as  high  as  115°  of  Fah- 
renheit in  the  shade,  while  the  1ST.  E.  winds,  the 
regular  trades,  were  blowing  over  the  land.  And  it 
is  equally  true  of  Arabia,  and  indeed  of  every  por- 
tion of  the  earth.  There  is  not  a  spot  upon  the 
globe  where  the  land  and  the  air  are  cooler  ly  the 
side  of  the  central  belt  of  rains,  than  under  it.  And 
the  opposite  is  true  every  where  upon  the  land. 

How  much  hotter  is  the  ocean  and  air  under  this 
supposed  vortex  ?  But  little  hotter  than  they  are  on 
the  side  where  the  sun  is  not  vertical,  and  none 
on  the  other.  Let  us  be  a  little  more  particular. 
The  temperature  of  the  Atlantic  under  the  belt  of 
rains  in  our  winter,  and  on  the  south  of  the  belt  at 
the  latitude  of  3°  south,  and  down  to  9°  or  more 
south,  is  82°.  The  air  may  range  a  degree,  or  possibly 
two,  higher  than  the  water  at  either  point.  On  the 
north  this  difference  is  from  nothing  at  the  meeting 
of  the  trades  and  belt  of  rains,  to  about  4°  at  their 
northern  limit.  This  is  too  trifling  to  be  worth  ono 
moment's  consideration.  It  is  less,  far  less  than  the 
difference  between  the  water  and  air  of  the  Gulf 
Stream  which  runs  along  our  coast,  and  the  adjoin- 


THE    TVEATHEK. 


75 


ing  waters  and  air  over  them.  While  on  the  south 
side  of  the  belt  of  rains  the  difference  is  actually 
against  the  theory — and  the  same  .state  of  things  is 
reversed  in  summer,  when  the  sun  is  vertical  at  the 
north. 

From  the  log  of  an  intelligent  shipmaster,  found 
in  the  wind  and  current  charts  of  Lieutenant  Maurj, 
I  abridge  the  following,  which  will  illustrate  this. 
Captain  Young  in  February,  found  the  N.  E.  trades 
at  about  17°  north  latitude,  with  the  water  at  75°  and 
air  at  76°,  trade-wind  K  E. 


At 

Feb.  22d. 
"    23d. 


12°  16' 
9°  49' 
7°  13' 


the  water  was  7 


"  24th.  noobs. 
"  25th.  3°  10' 
41  26th.  noobs. 

"  27th.  2°  24' 
"  28th.  noobs. 
0°29' 


3d. 


1°27'S.L. 
2°  44' 


75° 

the  air  76°  wind 

N.  E. 

76£° 

u         -yo       u 

N.  E. 

78° 

tt           7QO        it 

N.  E. 

79.!° 

«        -go      « 

(  N.  E.,  E.  S.  E. 
|  rain. 

81° 

"      83°     " 

E.  S.  E.  rain. 

coo 

u        coo      it 

(  S.  E.toE.  S.  E. 

CD 

O-fc 

1  hazy,  rain  &  sqs. 

82° 

«      82°     " 

calm,  with  rain. 

82° 

«       82°     " 

calm  rain. 

82° 

«      82°     " 

E.S.E.  sqs.  rain. 

82° 

<>      82o     u 

S.  E.  sqs.  rain. 

82° 

"       83°     " 

(  S.  E.  &  S.  S.  E. 
I  weather  settled. 

S.  S.  E.  &  S.  E. 

82° 

83° 

{  fair  weather. 

82° 

«      84°     " 

S.  E.  fairwthr. 

82° 

»       84°     " 

(  S.  E.&  E.S.E. 
I  fair  weather. 

4th.  4°  17' 
5th.  6°  08' 
6th.  8°  08' 


Here  the  air  was  seven  degrees  colder  at  the 
extreme  limit  of  the  N.  E.  trades  than  in  the  center 
of  the  belt  of  rains,  as  it  is,  usually,  in  mid- winter, 
but  not  in  summer.  On  the  other  hand,  after  lie 
left  the  region  of  calms  and  rains,  where  the  water 
and  air  stood  with  almost  entire  uniformity  at  82°, 
on  the  3d  of  March,  and  for  three  days  thereafter, 
during  which  he  was  in  the  S.  E.  trades  with  fair 


76  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

weather,  the  water  was  the  same  as  under  the  sup- 
posed vortex,  viz.,  82°,  and  the  air  rose  to  83°  and  84° ! 
This  is  demonstration. 

I  also  take  from  a  letter  of  Lieutenant  "Walsh  to 
Lieutenant  Maury,  relative  to  the  cruise  of  the 
"  Taney"  the  following,  showing  the  warmth  of  the 
Gulf  Stream  compared  with  the  adjacent  ocean. 


""We  first  crossed  the  Gulf  Stream  on  the  31st  of  October;  we 
struck  it  in  latitude  37°  22',  longitude  71°  26'  as  indicated  by  the 
temperature  of  the  water,  which  was  as  follows : 

8  A.M.  water  at    surface   66° 

9  "  «  «         73° 

10  "  "  "         76° 

11  "  "  "         77° 


77°  was  the  highest  temperature  found  in  crossing  at  this  time. 

Re-crossing  it  in  May,  in  latitude  35°  30',  longitude  72°  35',  he 
found  the  water  as  follows  : 

8  A.M.  water  at  surface  71°  8' 

9  "  "  "        ?3° 

10  "  "  "        75°  5' 

11  «  "  "        78°  5' 

12  M.          "  «        78°  5' 

79°  being  the  highest  temperature  found." 


The  average  difference  between  the  temperature 
of  the  water  of  the  Gulf  Stream  and  the  adjoining 
ocean,  at  the  line  of  division,  is  about  ten  degrees, 
increasing  to  more  than  twenty  on  approaching  the 
coast,  and  within  one  hundred  miles — a  far  greater 
difference  than  is  ever  found  on  the  winter  side  of 
the  inter-tropical  rainy  belt. 

It  is  not  only  not  so,  then,  that  the  surface  of  the 


THE    WEATHER.  77 

ocean  is  materially  warmer  tinder  the  belt  of  rains 
than  the  adjoining  surface  under  the  trades,  especially 
on  the  summer  side,  but  if  it  were  so,  the  trades  would 
not  be  created  thereby,  any  more  than  upon  the  Gulf 
Stream.  And  the  opposite  is  true  of  the  land  where 
the  line  of  calms,  and  rains,  and  drought  meet,  all 
around  the  globe.  The  fact  assumed  is  therefore 
untrue.  The  hottest  surfaces,  even  at  the  rainless 
portion,  where  there  is  no  vortex,  no  storm,  and 
no  wind  but  the  continual  uniform  N.  E.  horizontal 
trade- wind,  never  created,  by  reason  of  the  heat  alone, 
a  mile  of  wind,  a  storm  or  shower. 

But,  again,  the  belt  of  calms,  where  the  air  is  sup- 
posed to  rise  and  create  a  suction  which  draws  the 
trades  on  either  side  a  distance  of  from  one  thou- 
sand to  two  thousand  miles,  an  average  of  three 
thousand  miles  in  all,  at  least,  is  not  itself,  on  an 
average,  over  five  hundred  miles  in  breadth  from 
north  to  south.  "What  a  wonder  of  meteorology  is 
here! 

With  a  breadth  of  five  hundred  miles,  the  rising 
of  the  atmosphere  is  supposed  to  be  so  rapid  and  of 
such  immense  volume  that  it  draws  the  surface  atmos- 
phere, one  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  miles  on  one 
side  and  two  thousand  on  the  other,  with  a  uniform 
steady  velocity  of  twenty  miles  per  hour.  Is  this 
vast  suction  found  by  the  unlucky  mariner  who  may 
be  drawn  within  the  vortex  ?  Not  at  all.  He  finds 
no  rapid  suction  there,  but  horizontal  currents,  not 
steady,  indeed,  like  the  trades,  and  sometimes  calms 
at  the  center,  but  still  the  currents  are  there,  and,  except 


78  THE     PHILOSOPHY    OF 

near  the  center,  there  as  squalls,  showers,  and  baffling 
winds  and  as  monsoons. 

Again,  is  there  at  the  mouth  of  this  vortex,  or  as 
you  approach  it,  an  increased  rapidity  in  the  trade 
corresponding  to  the  magnitude  of  its  influence? 
Does  the  trade  become  a  hurricane  as  it  approaches 
the  spot  where  it  is  to  supply  the  place  of  that  which 
has  suddenly  "  expanded  by  heat,  and  been  forced  to 
rise,  boil  over,  and  run  off  at  the  top  in  turn  ?"  Not 
at  all.  It  blows  gently,  even  up  to  the  very  line  of 
the  rainy  belt,  and  becomes  squally  and  baffling,  falls 
gradually  calm  near  the  center,  or  changes  to  a  mon- 
soon. 

But,  again,  the  belt  of  rains  is  so  far  from  being  a 
belt  of  calms  strictly,  that  its  monsoons  in  the  Indian, 
Atlantic,  and  Pacific  Oceans,  at  times,  extend  hun- 
dreds of  miles  out  over  the  ocean.  That  of  the  At- 
lantic, triangular,  with  its  base  resting  on  Africa, 
according  to  Lieutenant  Maury,  extends  sometimes  al- 
most to  the  coast  of  South  America,  a  distance  of  one 
thousand  miles,  and  thus  under  the  supposed  ascend- 
ing vortex.  "Where  is  the  great  uprising  suction, 
during  the  prevalence  of  this  extensive  surface  hori- 
zontal monsoon  beneath  it  ?  Manifestly  it  does  not 
exist.  Nay,  that  monsoon  is  blowing  from  the  warm 
current  which  sets  up  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
•o  yard  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  over  the  cold  north 
polar  current,  which  runs  down  between  the  conti- 
nent and  the  Cape  de  Verdes.  Equally  untrue  is  the 
presumption  that  the  air  rises  over  heated  portions  of 
the  earth  elsewhere,  and  by  reason  of  such  heating. 


THE    WEATHER.  79 

Pei*pendicular  currents  of  the  atmosphere  are  rarely  seen, 
never  extensive,  or  attaining  any  considerable  altitude. 
I  have  watched  for  them  thirty  years.  I  have  seen 
currents  of  air  ascend,  with  their  moisture  condensing 
as  they  ascended,  and  unite  with  the  under  surface  of 
a  highly  electrified  cloud — the  advance  condensation 
of  a  thunder  shower — but  that  cloud  was  moving 
horizontally  at  a  distance  of  from  one  to  two  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  did  not 
rise.  I  have  seen  patches  of  scud  rising  from  the 
surface  during  the  intervals  of  a  showery  and  highly 
electrified  storm,  toward,  and  uniting  with,  the  clouds 
above,  when  very  low,  as  I  have  seen  them  approach 
and  unite  horizontally ;  and  doubtless  there  is  a  ten- 
dency upwards  of  the  wind,  created  and  attracted  by 
the  summer  shower,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  ascending 
dust  before  the  rain,  but  I  have  never  been  able  to 
detect  an  ascending  current,  except  as  induced  and 
attracted  by  a  cloud  above  moving  horizontally,  in 
the  hottest  day  or  dryest  time.  None  of  the  clouds 
of  our  climate,  even  when  the  earth  is  heated  and 
parched  by  a  two  months'  unbroken  drought,  can  be 
detected  rising  above  the  strata  in  which  they  form. 
I  have  watched  the  cumuli  at  such  periods  when  they 
filled  the  air,  and  can  assert  that  they  never  rise.  The 
atmosphere  moves,  invariably,  in  horizontal  strata, 
and  the  whole  theory  of  ascending  currents  is  fallaci- 
ous. 

But  let  us  look  still  further  at  the  tropical  currents. 
The  true  harmattan  of  north-western  Africa  (for  the 
term  is  sometimes  misapplied),  hot  and  blistering, 


80  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

generated  upon  the  sand  of  the  desert — why  does  it 
blow  from  Sahara  horizontally,  on  or  over  cooler  sur- 
faces, following  the  belt  of  rains  as  a  N.  E.  trade  ? 
Why  does  it  not  ascend  ?  The  sirocco  of  north  Sa- 
hara, the  kamsin  or  chamsin  of  eastern  Sahara, 
and  the  simoon  of  Arabia,  which  blow  hot  and  suf- 
focating from  those  deserts — why  do  they  blow/rom 
heated  surfaces  and  horizontally  over  cooler  ones? 
Why  do  they  not  ascend  ?  Arabia  is  surrounded  on 
three  sides  by  seas  and  gulfs,  from  which  evaporation 
is  rapid.  Her  interior  deserts  are  extensive  and  in- 
tensely hot — why  are  they  rainless  ?  Why  do 
they  not  have  a  vortex,  a  monsoon,  or  even  a  shower? 
Because  there  is  no  such  law  or  action  as  this  theory 
supposes.  Those  winds  blow  horizontally  in  obedi- 
ence to  other  laws,  and  under  the  control  of  other 
and  more  powerful  agents.  But  further  still,  what 
heating  and  ascending  process  is  it  that  makes  the 
variable  winds  north  of  the  tropics  ?  that  brings  in 
the  warm  air  and  fog  of  the  Gulf  Stream  upon  our 
snow-clad  coast,  in  mid-winter,  to  increase  the  January 
thaw  ?  Nay,  what  heating  process  is  it  that  disturbs 
the  calms  of  the  polar  regions  with  fresh  breezes  and 
gales,  sometimes  of  the  force  of  6,  when  the  sun  does 
not  shine,  the  thermometer  is  from  20°  to  40°  be- 
low zero,  the  earth  and  sea  one  frozen  surface,  and 
the  hardy  explorer  dressed  in  furs,  barely  lives  in  his 
cabin  covered  by  an  embankment  of  snow,  and  heat- 
ed by  a  stove  ? 

Gentlemen,  meteorologists,  it  will  not  do.      The 
theory  is  unsound ;  the  assumed  facts  do  not  exist. 


THE    WEATHER.  81 

The  whole  universe  has  not  an  agent,  organic  or  in- 
organic, which  can  play  such  absurd  and  inconsistent 
pranks  in  the  face  of  its  Creator,  as  your  various  and 
complicated  theories  assign  to  caloric. 

Away  with  the  theory  and  all  its  incidental  and 
complicated  and  mystified  hypotheses,  they  rest  like 
a  pall  upon  the  science ; — away  with  the  whole  sys- 
tem, and  let  us  seek  some  agent  whose  power  and 
adaptation  correspond  with  the  extent,  and  simplicity, 
and  magnificence  of  the  phenomena,  and,  in  some  de- 
gree, with  &LQ  power  and  wisdom  of  their  Author. 

4* 


CHAPTER   V. 

ONE,  and  the  principal  end  attained  by  the  power 
of  the  agent,  is  the  gathering  of  a  volume  of  atmos- 
phere from,  or  near,  the  surface  of  the  land  and 
sea,  so  as  to  ensure  its  possession  of  all  the  moist- 
ure of  evaporation  which  rises  from  the  local- 
ity, and  the  highest  degree  of  temperature,  and 
from  a  space  ranging  from  one  to  two  thousand 
miles  in  width,  in  one  hemisphere,  and  to  carry  if 
over  into  the  other.  Not  over  the  top,  or  upon  the 
top,  of  the  whole  mass  of  atmosphere  situated  in  the 
opposite  hemisphere — out  of  reach  of  all  influences  from 
the  earth — but  through  it,  and  curving  gradually 
down  near  to,  and  within  influential  distance  of  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  soon  after  it  passes  the  outward 
limit  of  its  fellow  trade  ;  and  to  continue  the  current 
onward,  leaving  portions  of  it  and  its  heat  and  moist- 
ure on  the  way,  but  taking  a  considerable  volume  up 
and  around  the  magnetic  poles — it  being  impossible 
for  the  entire  volume  to  be  thus  carried  around  the 
poles  in  consequence  of  the  diminished  circumference 
of  the  earth.  To  this  end  it  is  obvious  it  must  pos- 
sess polarity. 

Another  end  to  be  attained  is  to  combine  the 
moisture  of  evaporation  with  the  air,  so  that  the  cold 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    THE    WEATHER.       83 

atmosphere  through  which,  or  the  earth  over  which 
it  passes,  may  not  be  continually  condensing  its  moist- 
ure, and  thereby  enveloping  the  earth  in  a  perpetual  mist; 
but  so  that  it  may  part  with  it  at  intervals,  making 
cloudy  and  clear  days  ;  and  part  with  it  in  portions,  so 
that  a  regular  and  necessary  supply  may  be  furnished 
to  the  entire  hemisphere,  even  up  to  the  geographical 
poles.  Is  there  such  an  agent  ?  There  is,  precisely 
and  perfectly  adapted  to  the  ends  t<f  be  attained,  ever 
there  and  ever  active,  and  that  agent  is  magnetism. 

The  earth  is  a  magnet.  It  has  its  magnetic  poles, 
and  they  are  distinct  from  its  geographical  ones ;  and 
there  are  two  in  each  hemisphere.  They  are  situated 
from  17°  to  19°  distant  from  the  geographical  poles ; 
and  ours  is  not  far  from  longitude  97°  "W.  from 
Greenwich,  and  71°  north  latitude.  Navigators  have 
gone  north  and  north-west  of  it,  and  found  its  situa- 
tion by  the  declination  of  the  needle.  From  these 
poles,  lines  of  magnetic  intensity  extend  to  the 
opposite  and  corresponding  pole  of  the  other  hemi- 


84  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

sphere,  and  upon   or  near  those   lines  the   needle 

points  north  without  variation;    and  toward  these 

lir^s  of  no  variation  the   needle  every  where,  on 

ler  side  declines.     The  foregoing  diagram  shows 

le  situation  of  our  magnetic  pole  and  line  of  no  varia- 
tion, the  dip  of  the  needle  by  the  arrows,  and  the 
magnetic  equator. 

Recent  discoveries  have  shown  that  the  magnetic 
force  is  exerted  4n  lines  and  currents;  that  such 
curi  nts,  as  physical  lines  of  force,  surround  mag- 
nets, and  currents  of  electricity.  Doubtless  such 
lines  of  force  exist  around  the  earth  and  the  mag- 
netic poles.  There  are  also  longitudinal  lines  of  force 
existing  and  active,  between  the  poles,  and  extend- 
ing from  one  side  of  the  center  to  the  other,  occupy- 
ing nearly  one  third  of  the  magnet.  If  you  take  a 
large  needle  thoroughly  magnetized,  place  it  upon 
paper  and  drop  filings  of  iron  upon  it,  they  will 
become  arranged  about  it  in  circular  and  perpen- 
dicular, and  also  in  longitudinal  lines,  conforming  to 
the  currents. 

Fig.  13. 

Sg^f^iyjljf/* 

§5$$ 


This  experiment  is  illustrated  in  all  our  books  on 
natural  philosophy. 

The  foregoing  diagram,  copied  from  Olmstead's 
Philosophy,  does  not  show  as  accurately  as  Faro- 
day's  projection  of  the  lines  upon  a  globe-magnet 


THE    WEATHER.  85 

the    comparative    distance   from  the   poles   of   the 
needle,    at    which  the    longitudinal  currents    com- 
mence  and   terminate,    and    where   the    filings   -u 
not  adhere  to  any  considerable   extent.      The  line, 
shown  upon  the  needle  should  "bear  the  same  pro- 
portion to  its  length  as  the  trade- winds  bear  to  that 
of  the   earth,  measured  from  pole   to  pole,  and  if 
the  needle  had  a  globular  form  they  would  so  ap- 
pear. 

These  lines  are  made  by  currents  arising  from  one 
side  of  the  magnetic  equator,  and  passing  over  to  the 
other.  Doubtless,  just  such  currents  rise,  and  pass 
over  upon  the  earth. 

Magnetic  and  electric  currents  carry  the  air  with 
them.  This  is  well  settled  by  experiment.  Oxygen, 
too,  is  magnetic,  and  capable  both  of  receiving  and 
retaining  polarity  and  of  combining  with,  or  attract- 
ing and  retaining  vapor,  and  of  course  the  moisture 
of  evaporation.  Here  then  we  "have  a  power  exist- 
ing, capable  of  producing  the  result — precisely,  and 
with  evident  wisdom  adapted  to  its  production — ever 
present  and  active ;  and  no  other  known  agent  can. 

Is  it  not  then  the  agent  ? 

Let  us  look  a  little  further.  This  result  is 
affected  by  the  action  of  the  sun :  the  trades  with 
t^e  central  belts  of  rains  travel  north  and  south  after 
it ;  so  does  the  sun  affect  the  magnetic  currents  every 
where,  even  the  magnetic  needle  is  daily  affected  by 
its  action,  as  it  increases  the  intensity  of  the  terres- 
trial magnetic  currents,  and  hence  its  well  established 
diurnal  oscillations. 


86  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

Again,  along  the  eastern  lines  of  the  continents 
which  skirt  the  great  oceans  on  the  west,  run  the 
northerly  and  southerly  lines  of  no  variation,  and  of 
greatest  magnetic  intensity.  Here  are  the  trade 
currents  gathered  into  a  volume,  which  curve  and 
carry  unusual  fertility  to  South-eastern  Asia,  and 
North  America,  and  in  those  great  aerial  gulf  streams 
we  find  the  intense  electric  action  which  produces  the 
typhoons  of  the  former,  and  the  hurricanes  of  the 
latter.  It  may  still  be  said  that  these  conditions  and 
phenomena  of  the  trade-wind  region,  are  not  pro- 
duced by  magnetism  or  magneto-electricity,  but  the 
objector  can  point  to  no  other  adequate  power.  That  it 
must  be  heat,  electricity,  or  magnetism,  must  be 
admitted.  There  is  no  other  power  known.  Heat 
demonstrably  can  not  produce  them.  Magnetism  or 
electricity  therefore  must,  and  they  are  doubtless 
states  or  phases  of  the  same  power,  producing  in 
their  different  states  or  phases  the  different  results. 
And  even  heat — atmospheric  temperature,  is  often, 
if  not  always  the  result  of  their  action.  In  the 
present  state  of  science,  it  is  enough  for  me  that  the 
magnetic  longitudinal  currents  are  there  •  that  they  are 
lines  of  force  .and  adequate;  that  oxygen  is  magnetic, 
and  therefore  the  atmosphere  must  be  affected  by 
them — that  so  far  as  we  can  reason  from  analogy, 
they  ought  to  produce  the  effect  upon  the  atmosphere 
which  we  find  produced,  and  until  further  light  is 
thrown  upon  the  subject  I  shall  presume  that  they 
do.  Every  step  we  take  hereafter  in  this  investiga- 
tion will  confirm  the  presumption. 


THE    WEATHER.  87 

There  is  one  peculiarity  to  be  more  particularly 
noticed  before  we  leave  the  trade-wind  region,  and  we 
are  now  prepared  to  notice  it. 

The  belt  of  rains,  formed  by  the  currents  of  the  two 
trades,  threading  their  way  through  each  other — how 
are  they  produced  ?  Why  should  the  place  where 
the  currents  thus  pass  through  each  other  be  a  place 
of  almost  daily  precipitation  ?  There  is,  in  fact,  no 
ascension,  except  that  which  the  currents  have  in 
their  line  of  ascent  to  attain  the  elevation  which  the 
magnetic  law  of  the  current  requires. 

The  trades  have  passed  over  an  evaporating  sur- 
face and  are  charged  with  moisture.  This  moisture 
they  hold  in  magneto-electric  combination.  Evapora- 
tion does  not  depend  upon  temperature.  Ice  and  snow 
evaporate  at  all  temperatures  (Howard,  vol.  1,  p.  86). 
So  the  cold  N.  W.  wind,  full  of  positive  electricity, 
will  lap  up,  as  it  were,  the  pools  from  the  earth,  with 
astonishing  quickness ;  and  when  this  electricity  is 
deranging  the  action  of  the  machinery  and  material 
of  the  manufacturer,  he  allays  it  by  a  supply  of  moist- 
ure, with  which  the  electricity  can  combine.  Nor 
does  the  air  lose  its  moisture  when  below  the  freez- 
ing point.  In  all  parts  of  the  atmosphere,  as  at  the 
surface  of  the  earth  in  winter,  moisture  is  held  in 
large  quantities  in  the  coldest  and  severest  weather ; 
and  it  i»  not  till  it  moderates,  and  a  perceptible  electric 
change  takes  place,  that  it  is  precipitated  as  rain  or 
snow.  Doubtless  there  is  an  exposure  of  consider- 
able surfaces,  of  opposite  currents,  charged  with  op- 
posite polarity,  and  a  constant  depolarization  where 


88  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

their  surfaces  meet.  May  there  not  be  a  consequent 
dissolution  of  the  electro-magnetic  combination  be- 
tween the  air  and  moisture,  or  the  excitation  of  that 
electric  action  which  attends  or  produces  like  rains 
every  where  ?  and  hence  the  constant  precipitation. 
This  is  rendered  probable,  by  the  fact  that  precipita- 
tion, at  the  meeting  of  the  trades,  takes  place  in  level 
countries  in  the  day-time,  between  10  A.  M.  and  sun- 
set, in  showers,  with  thunder  and  lightning,  as  with 
us  in  summer,  although  among  the  mountains  the 
rain  sometimes  falls  in  the  night  also.  The  precipi- 
tation in  the  heat  of  the  day  is  obviously  induced  by 
the  action  of  the  sun,  although  it  is  by  no  means 
certain  that  the  friction  of  the  opposing  surfaces  does 
not  assist  in  the  operation. 

I  am  well  aware  that  the  lines  of  magnetic  force 
curve  upward  and  carry  the  trades  with  them,  and 
that,  therefore,  precipitation  by  condensation  from, 
the  mere  cold  of  the  upper  stratum  of  the  atmosphere 
is  possible.  But,  there  are  three  reasons  why  I  do 
not  believe  such  to  be  the  fact. 

1st.  Pr  c*r>itation  takes  place  in  the  day  time 
mainly,  and  in  sudden,  isolated,  heavy  showers  and 
not  in  steady  continuous  rain.  Nor  is  there  con- 
densation or  continual  mist  at  other  hours  of  the  day. 

2d.  They  occur  at  a  time  of  day  when  the  sun  is 
affecting  the  magnetic  currents  most  powerfully,  viz, 
between  ten  o'clock  A.  M.  and  sunset,  and  mainly  at 
the  time  of  greatest  heat. 

3d.  The  counter-trades  do  not  precipitate  after  they 
leave  the  rainy  belt,  although  at  a  great  elevation, 


THE    WEATHER.  89 

until  they  reach  the  outward  limits  of  the  trades; 
and  they  do  precipitate  again,  although  they  gradually 
descend  nearer  the  earth,  as  soon  as  they  become  sub- 
ject to  the  action  of  the  currents  of  an  opposite 
magnetism.  Their  precipitation  is  partial  too,  even 
then,  and  they  carry  a  portion  of  their  moisture 
through  an  atmosphere  of  the  coldest  temperature  up 
to  the  geographical  poles. 

A  similar  result  attends  the  action  of  the  sun  in 
the  extra-tropical  regions.  Cumuli  commence  form- 
ing in  the  counter- trade,  or  at  the  line  between  that 
and  the  surface  current,  at  the  same  time  of  day  that 
the  diurnal  motion  of  the  magnetic  needle  com- 
mences, or  the  rain  clouds  form  in  the  tropics ;  they 
continue  to  enlarge  here  as  there,  till  about  the  same 
hour  of  the  day  that  the  needle  obtains  its  maximum, 
diurnal  variations ;  and;;when  the  influence  of  the 
sun  upon  the  needle  ceases,  and  it  returns  to  its 
original  status,  the  cumuli  disappear.  Hail  storms 
too,  it  is  said,  always,  or  generally  occur  in  the  day 
time. 

In  like  manner  the  sea-breezes  and  oth^1  fair- 
weather  surface  winds,  rise  in  the  forenoon  with  the 
influence  of  the  sun  upon  the  magnetic  currents  and 
the  needle,  and  die  away  at  nightfall  when  the  in- 
fluence ceases. 

There  are  other  electro-magnetic,  or  to  speak  more 
correctly,  magneto-electric,  effects  of  the  sun's  action 
equally  illustrative,  which  tend  to  show  that  the 
precipitation  at  the  passing  of  the  trades,  is  the  result 
of  their  action  upon  each  other,  aided  by  the  sun,  to 


90  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

which  we  shall  allude  when  we  come  to  speak  of  the 
causes  and  character  of  the  surface  winds  of  the 
extra-tropical  regions. 

As,  however,  this  takes  place  only,  or  mainly, 
where  the  threading  surfaces  meet,  it  is  but  partial, 
and  the  body  of  the  respective  polarized  currents 
pursue  their  way  unaffected,  toward  the  opposite 
magnetic  pole — and  there  for  the  present  we  leave 
them. 

Storms  sometimes  originate  in  these  currents,  when 
concentrated,  as  in  the  West  Indies,  the  China  Sea, 
the  Bay  of  Bengal,  and  Indian  Ocean,  while  passing 
through  the  rainy  belt,  and  move  with  the  current 
to  the  north-west  if  issuing  on  the  north  side  of  it, 
and  to  the  south-west  if  issuing  on  the  south  side  of 
it,  until  they  respectively  .get  beyond  the  extreme 
limits  of  the  trades,  and  then  they  curve  to  the  east- 
ward, imbedded  in  and  following  their  current.  The 
peculiar  extension  of  the  land  to  the  east  on  the 
northern  portions  of  South  America,  prevents  the 
gathering  of  an  aerial  gulf  similar  to  the  one  which 
we  have  described  to  the  north-west,  entering  upon 
our  division  of  the  continent  over  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  It  is  otherwise  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  and 
there  the  storms  are  found  issuing  from  the  rainy 
belt  on  the  southern  side,  sweeping  over  the  Mauri- 
tius and  other  islands  of  that  ocean,  and  often  simul- 
taneously with  storms  issuing  on  the  north  over  the 
Bay  of  Bengal.  Colonel  Eeid  mentions  instances 
and  gives  a  diagram.* 

*  Law  of  Storms,  p.  42. 


THE    WEATHER.  91 

These  storms  in  milder  forms  issue  from  the  rain 
belt  at  other  points,  and  may  issue  any  where,  but 
will  always  be  found  most  extensive  and  most  violent, 
that  is  to  say,  as  hurricanes  and  typhoons,  in  the 
concentrated  volumes  of  counter-trade  on  the  western 
side  of  the  great  oceans,  within  a  few  hundred 
miles  of  the  lines  of  magnetic  intensity  and  no  varia- 
tion, and  when  they  form  in  the  rainy  belt  they  are 
highly  electric.  Most  frequently,  howevei^  as  we 
shall  see,  they  form  in  these  currents  after  they  have 
issued  from  the  rainy  belt,  and  after  they  have  passed 
the  extreme  limits  of  the  trades  and  become  subject  to 
the  circular  and  perpendicular  magnetic  currents  which 
exist  north  and  south  of  the  longitudinal  ones,  and 
which  when  seen  upon  the  magnetic  needle,  attract  the 
filings  and  cause  them  to  adhere — although  but  slight 
attraction  or  adhesion  takes  place  where  the  longi- 
tudinal currents  exist. 

Such,  then,  are  the  atmospheric  arrangements  and 
phenomena  of  the  trade-wind  region,  and  the  cause 
that  produces  them :  such  is  the  character  and  cause 
of  the  enlarged  volume  of  counter-trade,  which 
spreads  out  and  blows  over  our  country  as  perma- 
nently as  the  S.  E.  trades  blow  on  the  South  Atlantic 
and  South  America,  returning  to  us  the  rivers  which 
had  run  from  us  to  the  sea. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

COMING  back  now,  to  a  consideration  of  the  course 
and  functions  of  the  counter-trade  after  it  leaves  the 
northern  limit  of  the  surface-trades,  we  find  it  curves 
to  the  eastward  and  gradually  assumes  about  an  E.  N". 
E.  course,  and  becomes  a  "W.  S.  W.  current  where  it 
crosses  the  line  of  no  variation,  and  continues  on 
until  it  passes  off  over  the  Atlantic ;  and  this  course 
and  curve  is  analogous  to  what  may  be  found  true 
of  the  counter-trades  every  where.  It  is  best  jjjus- 
trated  by  the  course  of  all  the  storms  (in  the  Ameri- 
can sense  of  the  word,  as  distinguished  from  thunder 
showers  and  other  brief  rains),  which  have  been 
traced  north  or  south  of  the  limits  of  the  trades.  It 
was  found  by  Mr.  Redfield  in  most  of  the  storms 
investigated  by  him,  which  originated  within,  or 
north  of  the  tropics. 

Doubtless  it  was  the  actual  course  of  the  others, 
and  that  the  investigation  was  imperfect.  All  the 
great  autumnal,  winter,  or  spring  storms  which  have 
traversed  the  whole  or  any  considerable  portion  of 
the  territory  of  the  United  States,  east  of  New 
Mexico,  which  have  been  investigated  by  Professors 
Espy,  Loomis,  Eedfield,  or  others,  have  been  found 
to  follow  this  course.  A  storm  which  passed  over 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    THE    WEATHER.       93 

Madeira,  appears  from  the  investigations  of  Colonel 
Eeid  to  have  followed  the  same  law  of  curvature. 

And  so,  doubtless,  did  another  which  he  has 
described  as  passing  over  the  Levant.  The  storms 
which  supply  the  winter  rains  of  California  and 
Utah,  reach  them  bj  this  law  of  curvature  and  pro- 
gress, after  the  northern  limits  of  the  trades  have  de- 
scended to  the  south  with  the  sun,  so  that  the  counter- 
trades of  the  Pacific  may  descend  to  the  surface  and 
curve  in  upon  them.  But  the  absence  of  a  concen- 
tration of  the  counter-trade,  and  its  deficient  action 
because  of  its  passage  over  mountain  ranges,  and 
their  location  so  near  the  northern  limit  of  the  trades 
that  their  storms  can  not  expand  and  become  exten- 
sive, as  well  as  their  weaker  magnetic  intensity,  pre- 
vent their  storms  from  becoming  violent,  and  their 
supply  of  rain  is  not  large  and  much  of  it  falls  in 
showers.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Barbary  States, 
of  Syria,  and  Persia,  and  of  Southern  Europe ;  and 
indeed  of  all  the  countries  of  the  globe  which  lie 
between  the  winter  and  summer  extreme  limits  of 
the  surface-trades,  and  without  the  limits  of  the  two 
concentrated  counter-trades.  Enough  appears  in  the 
writings  of  the  meteorologists  of  Europe  to  show, 
that  their  long  continued  rains,  which  are  analogous 
to  our  storms  and  are  preceded  by  the  formation  of  the 
true  cirras  of  the  counter-trade,  follow  the  same  great 
law  of  curvature  and  progress ;  although  the  presence 
of  the  Gulf  Stream  with  its  mass  of  south  polar 
waters  on  the  western  side  of  the  British  Islands, 
Denmark,  and  Norway  supplies  them  with  showers, 


94  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

and  fogs,  and  cumuli  from  the  west  and  north- 
west, and  makes  the  mean  of  the  surface  winds  of 
their  storms  somewhat  variant  from  ours.  A  like  law 
reversed  prevails  in  the  southern  hemisphere.  The 
storms  of  New  Holland  and  the  Indian  Ocean,  south 
of  the  limits  of  the  trade,  curve  to  the  eastward  and 
travel  about  south-east,  their  south-ivest  being  a  dear- 
ing  off  wind  as  our  north-west  is,  and  precisely  similar 
in  all  its  other  characteristics,  where  the  relation  of 
magnetic  intensity  is  the  same. 

The  storms  of  the  Pacific  on  the  S.  "W.  coast  of 
South  America,  in  like  manner  travel  to  the  S.  E, 
flooding  the  western  slopes  of  the  mountain  ranges 
with  rain,  and  aggravated  by  the  intensity  of  the 
magnetic  currents  at  the  extremity  of  the  continent 
in  a  high  latitude,  meet  the  mariner  in  the  face  as  he 
emerges  from  under  the  lee  of  the  land  and  attempts 
to  pass  the  Horn.  It  will  ultimately  be  shown  that 
the  precipitation  which  takes  place,  as  the  storms 
and  counter-trades  pass  north  and  east  in  the  north- 
ern hemisphere  and  south  and  east  in  the  southern 
hemisphere,  is  owing  less  to  cold  than  increased 
magnetic  intensity.  And  all  this  is  the  result  of  one 
great  uniform  law,  existing  every  where,  varying  in 
its  phenomena  only  in  consequence  of  the  difference 
in  volume,  and  magneto-electric  intensity  of  the 
portions  of  the  counter-trade,  as  of  the  surface- 
trade  at  different  places,  and  the  different  magnetic 
intensity  of  the  local  perpendicular  and  circular 
currents  of  the  earth  over  which  they  pass,  at  differ- 
ent periods  and  at  different  points. 


THE    WEATHER.  95 

Mr.  Eedfield  and  Lieutenant  Maury  have  assumed 
that  our  S.  W.  current  comes  from  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Aside  from  the  adverse  evidence  which  the  investi- 
gations of  the  former  in  relation  to  the  course  of  the 
West  Indian  storms,  and  their  curving  over  the 
continent,  furnish  to  the  contrary,  and  that  which 
has  herein  before  been  stated  in  relation  to  the  law 
of  curvature,  it  is  obvious  they  are  mistaken,  for 
another  and  conclusive  reason. 

In  order  to  reach  us  from  the  Pacific  in  a  direction 
from  S.  W.  to  N.  E.,  it  must  pass  the  table  lands  and 
mountain  ranges  of  Mexico  and  New  Mexico,  and  it 
would  supply  them  bountifully,  even  if  it  did  not 
thereby  leave  us  comparatively  rainless  and  sterile. 
Every  where  currents  passing  from  the"  ocean  over 
mountain  ranges  part  with  a  large  share  of  their 
moisture.  Thus  the  counter-trade  which  curves  over 
the  Andes  and  over  Peru,  is  deprived  of  its  moisture 
and  leaves  the  western  coast  rainless.  So  in  degree 
of  the  counter-trade  which  curves  over  the  Himalaya 
and  Kuenlon  Mountains,  and  from  there  passes  over 
the  Desert  of  Gobi,  to  the  north  and  east — it  is  de- 
prived by  those  elevated  ranges  of  its  moisture. 
So  the  mountains  on  the  south-western  coast  of 
South  America  are  drenched  with  rain,  while  Pata- 
gonia, which  lies  on  the  east  of  them  is  compara- 
tively dry.  And  so  of  every  other  country  similarly 
situated. 

Now  the  mountain  ranges  and  table  lands  of 
Mexico  are  not  thus  supplied  writh  moisture.  For  the 
space  of  four  months  in  Southern  and  less  in  North- 


96  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

ern  Mexico,  and  in  summer,  and  while  the  belt  of  the 
tropics  is  extended  up  over  them,  they  have  rain  and 
in  daily  showers  which  travel  up  from  the  south, 
indicating  the  course  of  the  counter-trade.  (See 
Bartlett's  Personal  Narrative,  vol.  ii.  p.  286.)  At 
other  seasons,  and  while  we  are  bountifully  supplied, 
they  are  dry.  In  short,  there  are  no  two  por- 
tions of  the  earth  that  differ  more  widely  in  regard 
to  their  supply  of  moisture,  and  all  their  climatic 
characteristics  and  relations.  It  is  therefore,  ac- 
cording to  all  analogy,  impossible  that  our  counter- 
trade should  come  from  the  South  Pacific  across  the 
continent  and  below  35°,  and  in  this  also  those 
gentleman  are  mistaken. 

Messrs.  Espy  and  Kedfield  recognizing  the  existence 
of  "  a  prevailing"  S.  W.  current,  but  considering  the 
surface- winds  beneath  it  as  the  principal  actors  in  pro- 
ducing the  atmospherical  conditions  and  changes,  have 
attributed  no  office  to  that  current,  except  that  of 
giving  direction  and  progression  to  our  storms.  This 
is  their  great  mistake.  It  plays  no  such  unimportant 
part  in  the  philosophy  of  the  weather,  as  we  have 
already  incidentally  seen,  and  will  proceed  still 
further  to  consider. 

All  our  storms  originate  in  it.  This  we  may  know 
from  analogy. 

Where  there  is  no  counter-trade,  outside  of  the  equa- 
torial belt  of  rains,  and  within  influential  distance  of  the 
earth,  there  are  neither  storms  nor  rain.  So,  when,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  concentration  of  the  volume  of 
northern  counter-trade  in  the  West  Indies,  gathered 


THE    WEATHER.  97 

by  the  hauling  of  the  S.  E.  trades  more  from  the 
east,  as  they  approach  the  central  belt,  diminishing 
the-  volume  of  the  counter-trade  over  the  North 
Atlantic,  the  calms  and  drought  of  the  horse-lati- 
tudes are  found.  And  when  the  counter-trade  is 
small  in  volume  and  weak  in  intensity,  by  reason 
of  the  fact  that  the  surface-trades  from  the  opposite 
hemisphere  which  constitute  it,  formed  upon  land 
where  evaporation  was  small,  as  upon  Southern  Africa 
and  New  Holland,  or  formed  where  the  magnetic  in- 
tensity was  weak,  or  passed  over  mountain  ranges 
in  their  course,  the  annual  supply  of  rain,  the  ranges 
of  the  barometer,  and  the  alternations  of  atmospheric 
conditions  are  remarkably  less. 

We  have  already  seen  where  the  rainless  portions 
of  the  earth  are,  and  why  they  are  so ;  because  those 
lying  north  of  the  northern  limit  of  the  equatorial  rainy 
belt  were  yet  too  far  south  to  be  covered  by  the  line  of 
extra- tropical  rains ;  or  in  other  words,  too  far  south 
to  be  uncovered  by  the  surface  N.  E.  trades  and  the 
longitudinal  magnetic  currents,  and  to  be  covered  by 
the  counter-trades  in  contact,  or  nearly  so  with  the 
earth,  and  iDfluenced  by  the  perpendicular  north 
polar  magnetic  currents.  Thus  we  have  seen  that 
the  rains  of  Southern  Mexico  were  summer  rains, 
due  to  the  northern  extension  of  the  equatorial  rainy 
belt ;  those  of  California  were  winter  rains,  due  to 
the  southern  extension  of  the  extra-tropical  rains 
following  the  N.  E.  surface  trades*  We  haye  also 
briefly  alluded  to  the  fact  that  either  side  of  the 
equatorial  rainy  belt,  evaporation  is  going  on  for 

" 


98  THEPHILOSOPHYOF 

months  under  a  vertical  sun,  without  precipitation — 
unless  it  be  from  an  occasional  brief  storm  of  great 
intensity  which  originates  in  that  belt  at  the  line  of 
it,  and  passing  on  in  the  counter-trade,  reverses,  for 
the  time  being,  by  its  concentrated  and  powerful 
action,  like  a  magnetic  body  introduced  into  the  field 
of  another  magnet,  the  surface-trades.  Mere  evapo- 
ration then,  does  not  produce  the  storm,  or  shower, 
or  rain,  where  most  active  in  the  dry  torrid  zone. 
It  may  be  said  that  those  dry  portions  are,  for  the 
time  being  (as  the  rainless  portions  of  the  earth  are 
continually),  within  the  operation  of  the  surface- 
trades,  and  that  therefore  the  evaporated  moisture  is 
carried  away  by  them  toward  the  equatorial  rainy 
belt.  Precisely  so ;  but  why  carried  away  ?  Why 
should  it  not  condense,  occasionally,  at  least,  and 
drop  the  rain  as  it  passes  along,  if  a  great  supply  of 
moisture  from  excessive  evaporation  could  furnish  rain. 
Perhaps  it  may  still  be  said  it  is  going  from  a  cold  to 
a  warm  section.  This  is  not  true,  as  we  have  shown. 
But,  it  may  be  said  that  the  rainless  regions 
at  any  rate  receive  no  moisture,  and  therefore 
can  not  supply  any  by  evaporation.  This  would 
not  meet  the  case,  as  it  would  still  be  true  that 
when  the  rainy  belt  has  left  a  given  spot,  the  dry 
weather  sets  in  with  excessive  evaporation,  and 
the  north-east  trades  in  summer,  blowing  from  the 
countries  lying  north  of  the  rainless  regions,  and 
which  have  been  supplied  during  the  interval  by  the 
extra-tropical  rains,  and  are  loaded  with  evapora- 
tion, are  passing  over  the  rainless  regions  on  their 


THE    WEATHER.  99 

way  to  enter  the  central  belt.  So  blow  the  N.  E. 
trades  from  the  Mediterranean,  and  the  Barbary 
States  over  the  Desert  of  Sahara  and  into  the  rainy 
belt  south  of  it ;  but  drop  no  moisture  on  their  way, 
because  exposed  to  no  magnetic  currents  of  an 
opposite  polarity. 

But  it  is  not  true  that  all  the  rainless  regions  are 
without  evaporation.  Egypt  is  an  exception.  The 
annual  freshets  of  the  Nile  saturate  its  central  valley, 
and  vast  reservoirs  of  water  are  saved  from  it  and 
let  out  over  its  surface,  and  it  all  evaporates,  but  pro- 
duces no  rain.  And  so  are  large  quantities  turned 
aside  and  scattered  over  the  bottom  lands  of  Northern 
Mexico,  and  other  countries,  during  the  dry  season, 
and  their  evaporation  furnishes  no  rain.  Hygrome- 
ters and  dew  points  are  of  no  consequence  there — 
nor  are  they  of  any,  on  either  side  of  the  rainy  belt, 
where  six  perpendicular  feet  of  moisture  is  evapor- 
ated in  six  months. 

Again  we  have  alluded  to  a  strip  of  coast  on  the 
Pacific  west  of  the  mountain  ranges  of  South 
America,  lying  partly  in  Peru,  partly  in  Bolivia,  and 
partly  in  Northern  Chili,  which,  although  long  and 
narrow,  washed  by  the  broad  Pacific  Ocean*,  is  with- 
out rain.  South  America  has  no  other  u-holly  rainless 
region,  so  far  as  is  known.  A  part  of  this  region 
would  lie  between  the  equatorial  belt  of  rain,  and 
the  southern  extra- tropical  one,  and  never  be  covered 
by  either;  but  the  volume  of  N%  E.  trades  from 
the  Atlantic,  although  from  the  make  of  the  land  not 
concentrated  to  so  great  an  extent  as  the  volume  of 


100  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

S.  E.  trade  on  the  north,  and  therefore  not  so  liable 
to  hurricanes  and  other  violent  storms,  is  yet  suffi- 
ciently so  to  carry  the  southern  line  of  the  equinoctial 
rainy  belt  down  in  winter  to  the  summer  line  of 
extra-tropical  rains,  and  give  a  supply  of  rain  to  all 
the  continent — leaving  no  strictly  rainless  region 
south  of  the  equatorial  rainy  belt  and  east  of  the 
Andes.  Those  mountains,  however,  present  a  barrier 
to  its  south-western  progress  which  it  doubtless 
passes  to  some  extent,  but  deprived  of  its  moisture, 
and  unable  to  supply  the  rainless  coast  region  of 
Peru,  Bolivia,  and  Northern  Chili.  There  is,  there- 
fore, a  portion  of  this  rainless  line  of  coast  which  is 
within  the  region  of  extra-tropical  rains,  over  which 
a  portion  of  the  N.  E.  trades  of  the  Atlantic,  as  a 
counter-trade,  should  or  do,  curve,  and  where  there 
should  therefore  be  extra-tropical  rains.  It  is  washed 
by  the  Pacific,  an  evaporating  surface,  and  westerly 
and  south-west  breezes  are  drawn  in  from  that  ocean 
over  it.  Why  then  is  it  rainless  ?  The  only  reason 
which  can  be  assigned  why  rain  does  not  fall  there 
is  that  the  high  mountain  ranges  of  the  Andes  inter- 
cept and  perhaps  in  part  divert  the  counter-trade, 
and  deprive  that  portion  of  it  which  passes  them, 
of  its  moisture,  by  that  reciprocal  action  of  opposite 
polarities  which  takes  place  whenever  and  wherever 
the  trade  approaches  so  near  the  earth ;  and  it  curves 
over  the  narrow  line  of  coast  with  the  feeble  con- 
densation, and  imperfect  forms,  and  varied  coloring 
which  mark  so  peculiarly  the  rainless  clouds  of  that 


THE    WEATHER.  101 

region.  (See  Stewart's  Journal  of  a  Voyage  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  page  72.) 

Again,  it  is  estimated,  and  on  reliable  data,  that 
twelve  perpendicular  feet  of  water  are  annually 
evaporated  from  the  surface  of  the  Bed  Sea,  between 
Nubia  on  one  side,  and  Arabia  on  rhc  other ;  yet 
they  are  both  rainless  countries,  except  so  far  as  the 
inter-tropical  belt  of  rains  extends  -up  on  to  a-s'rcali 
portion  of  them.  The  moisture  of  evaporation,  floated 
up  from  a  surface  covered  by  the  surface-trade 
is  invariably  so  combined  as  to  remain  uncondensed 
till  it  has  passed  south  into  the  equatorial  rainy  belt, 
and  over  to  the  opposite  hemisphere,  and  been  ex- 
posed to  the  currents  of  an  opposite  magnetism. 

Again,  the  1ST.  E.  trades  extended  up  in  summer 
over  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  an  evaporating  sur- 
face, blow  over  the  Barbary  States  in  June  and  July, 
but  furnish  no  rain.  And  so  of  the  S.  E.  or  K.  E, 
trades  which  blow  over  Brazil  and  other  countries  in 
the  absence  north  or  south  of  the  tropical  belt  of  rains. 

It  is  obvious  from  these  facts — and  more  like  them 
might  be  cited — that  mere  evaporation,  however 
copious  or  long  continued,  does  not  make  the  storm 
or  shower  in  the  locality  where  it  takes  place,  and 
without  ike  existence  and  influential  agency  of  a  counter- 
trade ;  and  that  reciprocal  action,^  whatever  it  may 
be,  that  takes  place  between  it  and  the  earth. 

Again,  our  own  experience  is  conclusive  of  this. 
We  have  no  surface-trade  north  of  30°,  and  yet  a 
long  drought  and  great  evaporation  may  follow  a 
wet  spring.  Belts  of  droughts  and  frequent  rains 


102  THE     PHILOSOPHY    OF 

occur  every  year  in  different  portions  of  the  country 
side  by  side,  and  the  dividing  line  follows  the  course  of 
the  counter-trade,  and  is  sometimes  distinctly  marked 
for  weeks.  "When  a  change  occurs  in  the  counter- 
trade, whether  from  causes  existing  there  or  the  in- 
$uence  £>f  ierie.stxial  magnetism  (in  relation  to  which 
we  shall  inquire  hereafter),  showers  form  or  storms 
xx>me.  on;  uniil.it  (ioes  they  will  not.  Efforts  at 
condensation  will  occasionally  appear,  but  they  will 
be  feeble  and  ineffectual,  and  occasion  a  repetition 
of  the  axiom  that  "  all  signs  fail  in  a  drought." 
And  we  may  know  it  from  direct  observation. 

The  first  indications  of  a  .storm,  and  of  most  if 
not  all  showers,  are  observable  in  the  counter-trade. 
These  indications,  so  far  as  they  are  visible,  are  of 
course  to  be  looked  for  in  the  west;  although  the 
direction  and  character  of  the  surface-winds  are  often 
indicative  of  these  changes  when  not  visible  at  the 
west  as  we  shall  see. 

The  indications  are  those  of  condensation,  and  vary 
very  much  in  different  seasons  of  the  year.  It  is 
not  my  purpose  in  this  place  to  examine  them  par- 
ticularly. They  will  be  alluded  to  hereafter  under 
the  head  of  prognostics.  Suffice  it  now  to  say,  then, 
that  whether  it  be  the  long  threads  or  lines  of  cirrus 
which  occur  in  the  trade  in  the  winter  after  a  period 
of  severe  cold,  following  the  interposition  of  a  large 
volume  of  N.  W.  cold  air  and  the  elevation  of  the 
counter-trade ;  or  the  forms  of  cirrus  which  occur  at 
other  times  and  other  seasons ;  or  whether  it  be  the 
ordinary  bank  at  night-fall,  or  the  evening  condensa- 


THE    WEATHER.  103 

tion  which  makes  the  "  circle*'  around  the  moon,  or 
the  morning  cirro-stratus  haze  which  gradually  thick- 
ens, passes  over  and  obscures  the  sun,  all  which  may 
be  followed  by  the  easterly  scud  and  winds:  they 
are  alike  condensation  in  the  trade,  the  advance  or 
forming  condensation  of  a  storm  or  showers. 

The  state  of  the  weather,  whether  hot  or  cold,  is 
extensively  affected  by  this  trade  current.  As  we 
have  already  suggested,  the  mere  presence  of  the  sun 
in  its  summer  solstice,  or  its  absence  in  winter,  is  not 
an  adequate  cauke  of  all  the  sudden  and  various 
changes  to  which  we  are  subject.  The  state  of  the 
counter-trade,  which  is  always  over,  or  within  influ- 
ential distance  of  us,  and  sometimes  probably  in  con- 
tact with  us — the  nature  of  the  surface- winds  which 
it  is  at  any  given  time  creating  and  attracting  around 
us,  and  the  electric  condition  of  the  surface-atmos- 
phere induced  by  it,  or  by  the  immediate  action  of  the 
earth's  magnetism,  produce  those  sudden  changes 
which  mark  our  climate.  When  no  intervening  sur- 
face-winds elevate  it  above  us,  and  there  is  no  storm 
or  other  condensation  within  influential  distance,  it 
induces  the  gentle  balmy  S.  W.  wind  of  spring — 
the  cooling  S.  "W.  wind  of  summer — the  peculiar 
Indian  summer  air  of  autumn,  or  the  comparatively 
moderate,  although  cold,  open  weather  of  winter.  If 
there  be  a  partial  tendency  to  condensation  in  it,  the 
cumuli  form  under  the  magnetic  influence  excited  by 
the  sunbeams  from  ten  to  three  o'clock  in  the  day, 
and  float  gently  away  to  the  eastward,  disappearing 
before  night-fall.  If  the  disposition  to  condensation 


104  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

is  stronger,  whether  inherent  or  induced  by  an  in- 
creased local  activity  of  terrestrial  magnetism,  these 
cumuli  will  increase  toward  night-fall,  or  earlier,  and 
terminate  in  showers ;  and  if  it  is  in  a  highly  electrical 
state,  the  still  oppressive  sultriness  which  precedes  the 
tornado,  and  that  devastating  scourge  may  appear. 
If  this  disposition  to  condensation  becomes  extensive, 
cirri  form  and  run  into  cirro-stratus,  or  they  extend, 
coalesce,  and  form  stratus;  the  surface-wind  will 
be  attracted  under  them,  the  thermometer  fall  in. 
summer  or  rise  in  winter,  and  a  'storm  begin.  In- 
tense action  and  sudden  cold  may  exist  in  and  under 
this  counter-trade  over  the  southern  portion  of  the 
country,  while  all  is  calm,  warm,  and  balrny  at  the 
north.  Heavy  snow  storms  sometimes  pass  at  the 
south  when  there  are  none  at  the  north,  and  a  cor- 
responding state  of  the  weather  follows.  If  a  large 
body  of  snow  fall  at  the  north,  the  winter  is  cold, 
regular,  and  "old  fashioned;"  if  little  snow  falls  at 
the  north  and  more  at  the  south,  the  winter  at  the 
north  is  open  and  broken.  I  have  known  the  ice 
make  several  inches  thick  at  Baltimore  and  "Wash- 
ington, when  none  could  be  obtained  for  the  ice- 
houses on  the  Connecticut  shore  of  Long  Island 
Sound.  In  short,  although  heat  and  cold  are  mainly 
dependent  upon  the  altitude  of  the  sun,  aided  by  the 
other  arrangements  we  have  alluded  to,  yet  the 
counter-trade,  and  the  reciprocal  action  which  takes 
place  between  it  and  the  earth,  are  most  powerful 
agents,  mitigating  the  rigors  of  winter,  bringing 
about  the  changes  from  cold  to  warm  weather  which 


THE    WEATHER.  105 

the  sun  is  two  far  south  to  produce.  And  on  the 
other  hand,  by  this  reciprocal  action,  producing  the 
electrical  phenomena,  the  gusts,  the  tornadoes,  the 
hail  storms,  and  the  cool  seasons  of  .summer,  and  the 
period  of  intense  cold  in  winter. 

All  our  surf  ace-winds )  except  the  tight,  peculiar  W.  £ 
W.  wind  which  is  felt  where  the  counter-trade  is  in  con- 
tact with  the  earffi,  and  which  is  a  part  of  it,  and  per- 
haps tJie  genuine  N".  W.  wind  which  is  very  peculiar, 
are  incidents  of  the  trade,  and  are  due  to  its  conditions 
and  attractions.  We  have  already  said  this  was  true 
of  the  easterly  wind  and  scud  of  a  storm — it  is  alike 
true  of  all.  The  storm  winds  east  of  the  Alleghanies 
are  usually,  though  not  always,  from  the  eastward. 
They  are  sometimes  from  the  southward,  as  they 
doubtless  are  still  more  frequently  in  the  interior  of 
the  continent. 

There  is  occasionally  a  southerly  afternoon  wind, 
followed  by  short  rains  in  spring  and  fall,  or  a 
succession  of  showers  in  summer,  which  is  rather  a 
precedent  wind  than  a  storm  wind  ;  blowing  toward 
and  under  an  advance  portion  of  the  storm  at  the 
north,  and  hauling  to  the  eastward  when  the  rain  sets 
in,  or  to  the  westward  when  the  showers  reach  us. 

When  there  are  no  storms,  or  showers,  or  inducing 
electric  action  in  the  counter-trade,  within  influential 
distance  to  disturb  the  surface  atmosphere,  it  is  calm. 
If  a  storm  approaches,  or  forms  within  inducing  dis- 
tance, the  surface  atmosphere  is  affected  and  attracted 
toward  the  storm,  from  one  or  more  points,  and 
"blows,"  as  we  say,  toward  and  under  it.  It  com- 

5* 


106  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

mences  blowing  first  nearest  the  storm,  and  extends 
as  the  storm  travels,  or  becomes  more  intense  and 
extends  its  inducing  influence.  I  have  repeatedly 
noticed  this  in  traveling  on  steamboats  and  railroads 
running  toward  or  from,  and  in  several  instances 
through  a  storm,  and  telegraphic  notices  and  other  in- 
vestigations prove  it.  The  point  from  which  the 
surface  atmosphere  is  attracted  and  blows,  depends 
very  much  upon  the  position  of  the  storm  in  relation 
to  bodies  of  water  and  the  point  of  observation,  and 
its  shape ;  and  the  force  with  which  it  may  blow  will 
depend  much  upon  its  intensity. 

Let  us  take  an  instance  or  two  by  way  of  illustra- 
tion of  all  these  points ;  and  as  I  have  given  instances 
of  summer  in  the  introduction,  we  will  take  those 
of  winter.  It  is  January  of  an  "old  fashioned 
winter;"  the  snow  is  about  three  feet  deep  in  Canada, 
about  one  foot  in  Southern  New  York,  and  a  few 
inches  in  Philadelphia,  and  so  extends  west  to  the 
Alleghanies  at  least.  For  several  days  the  sky  has 
been  clear,  the  thermometer  rising  in  the  day-time, 
in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  to  about  25°  Fahrenheit, 
falling  at  night  to  about  6°,  with  light  airs  from  the 
N.  W.  during  the  middle  and  latter  part  of  the 
day ;  the  counter-trade  and  the  barometer  both  run- 
ning high ;  cold  but  pleasant,  steady,  winter  weather. 
There  is  a  warm  south-east  rain  and  thaw  coming,  as 
one  or  more  such  almost  invariably  occur  in  January. 
How  coming?  The  sun  is  far  south,  and  shines 
aslant,  but  through  a  pure  and  windless  atmosphere ; 
he  has  tried  for  several  days  to  melt  the  snow  from 


THE    WEATHER.  107 

the  roof;  a  few  icicles  are  pendant  from  the  eaves ; 
but  the  body  of  the  snow  is  still  there.  How  can  a 
thaw  come?  not  from  the  sun,  surely.  No,  indeed, 
not  from  the  action  of  the  sun  directly,  upon  our 
country,  nor  from  the  Atlantic  or  the  Gulf  Stream 
which  is  off  our  coast.  But  a  portion  of  the  current 
of  counter-trade  is  coming,  heated  by  his  rays  and 
the  warm  water  in  the  South  Atlantic,  in  an  intense 
magneto-electric  state,  capable  of  inducing  an  electro- 
thermal change  in  the  surface  atmosphere  which  it 
approaches,  and  of  being  reciprocally  acted  upon  by 
ihe  north  polar  terrestrial  magnetism.  It  is  now 
over  Northern  Texas  and  Western  Louisiana,  it  will 
be  here  day  after  to-morrow.  The  day  passes  as 
the  day  previous  had  passed ;  the  sleigh-bells  jingle 
merrily  in  the  evening;  the  moon  shines  clear  all 
night ;  the  storm  is  coming  steadily  on,  but  its  in- 
fluence has  not  reached  us,  and  the  morning  and 
mid-day  are  like  those  which  preceded  it.  As  night- 
fall approaches,  however,  the  thermometer  does  not 
fall  as  rapidly  as  on  the  day  previous ;  the  sun  shines 
dimly  and  through  lines  of  whitish  cirrus  cloud  ex- 
tending from  the  horizon  at  the  west,  appearing 
darker  as  the  sun  descends  and  shines  more  hori- 
zontally through  them — perhaps  mainly  in  the  N.  W. 
—and  which  extend  up  and  over  toward  the  E.  N. 
E.  The  air  next  the  earth  begins  to  feel  raw ;  it  is 
changing,  not  from  warm  to  cold,  but  electrically  from 
positive  to  negative;  and  dampening,  from  a  ten- 
dency to  condensation  by  induction,  as  we  shall  see 
— the  same  condensation  which  in  warm  weather 


108  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

may  be  seen  on  flagging  stones,  and  walls,  and  vessels 
containing  cold  water.  The  advance  cirrus  condens- 
ation of  the  storm  is  over  us  and  affecting  us ;  the 
earth  too  is  affecting  the  adjacent  atmosphere  by 
action  extended  from  beneath  the  storm.  Still  there 
is  no  wind,  although  sounds  seem  to  be  heard  a  little 
more  distinctly  from  the  east,  and  so  ends  the  day. 
Evening  comes,  and  the  moon  wades  in  a  smooth 
bank  of  cirro-stratus  haze,  with  a  very  large  circle 
around  her ;  the  cirrus  bands  of  haze  have  coalesced 
and  formed  a  thin  stratus.  The  storm  is  coming 
steadily  on,  its  condensation  is  seen  to  be  thicker  as 
it  approaches,  it  is  now  raining  from  one  hundred 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  west,  but  we 
do  not  know  it. 

That  it  is  about  to  storm  all  believe,  for  all  are  con- 
scious of  a  change.  The  candle  if  extinguished  will 
not  relight  as  readily,  if  at  all,  on  being  blown ;  there 
is  a  crackling  almost  too  faint  for  snow  in  the  fire ; 
the  sun  did  not  set  clear ;  the  old  rheumatic  joints 
complain,  and  the  venerable  corns  ache. 

Morning  comes,  and  the  storm  is  on.  The  wind 
is  blowing  from  the  S.  E.,  the  scud  are  running 
rapidly  from  the  same  quarter  to  the  N.  W.,  the 
thermometer  continues  rising,  and  it  rains.  The 
storm  has  reached  us  and  the  thaw  has  commenced. 
Gradually,  as  the  densest  portion  of  the  storm  cloud 
reaches  us,  it  darkens ;  the  scud  are  nearer  the  earth, 
and  run  with  more  rapidity;  the  rain  falls  more 
heavily  and  continuously,  and  by  the  middle  of  the 
day  a  thick  fog  has  enveloped  the  earth ;  the  wind  is 


THE    WEATHEB.  109 

dying  away,  and  the  trade  itself,  with  its  southern 
tendency  to  fog,  has  settled  near  us ;  the  barometer 
has  fallen,  the  thermometer  is  up  to  fifty  degrees,  the 
water  is  running  down  the  hills,  the  snow  is  satu- 
rated with  water  and  is  disappearing  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  fog,  the  rain,  and  the  warm  air.  Even- 
ing comes;  the  south-east  wind  and  the  rain  have 
ceased;  the  rain  clouds  have  passed  off  to  the  east- 
ward; the  fog  has  followed  on  and  disappeared; 
there  is  a  light  trade  air  from  the  S.  W. ;  the  moon 
shines  out,  and  a  few  patches  of  stratus,  broken  up  into 
fragments  and  melting  away,  are  following  on  in  the 
trade :  the  storm  is  past. 

Hark !  to  the  tones  of  Boreas  as  he  bursts  forth 
from  the  N".  "W.,  and  rushing,  whistling,  howling, 
dashes  on  between  the  trade  and  the  earth,  following 
the  storm.  Now  the  barometer  rises  rapidly,  the 
thermometer  falls,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time 
all  is  congealed,  and  cold  and  wintery  as  before.  The 
cold  N.  W.  wind  has  again  interposed  between  the 
trade  and  the  earth ;  the  trade  is  elevated  a  mile  or 
more  above  it  and  is  entirely  free  from  its  influence 
and  from  condensation ;  the  deep  blue  of  a  sky  "  as 
pure  as  the  spirit  that  made  it"  is  over  us,  and  steady 
winter  reigns  again. 

It  is  obvious  that  there  was  nothing  in  the  action 
of  the  sun  upon  our  snow-clad  country,  to  induce 
the  thaw  or  the  storm.  It  began,  continued,  ap- 
proached, and  passed  off  to  the  N.  E.  in  the  counter- 
trade. The  S.  E.  wind  which  existed  every  where 
within  its  influence :  in  the  interior  States,  Missouri, 


110  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  Michigan,  and  in  Canada,  as 
well  as  upon  the  Atlantic  coast,  commencing  in  the 
former  earlier  than  upon  the  last,  was  4he  result  of  its 
induction  and  attraction.     Of  the  N.  "W".  wind  that 
followed   we  shall    speak    hereafter.      If   any   one 
doubts  whether  this  be  a  true  sketch  let  him  examine 
the  investigation  of  a  storm  published  bj  Professor 
Loomis,  or  observe  for  himself  hereafter.     If,  how- 
ever,  the  storm  of  Professor  Loomis  is  referred  to,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  his  notes  show  the  oc- 
currence of  a  slight  distinct  snow  storm  at  the  IS". 
W.  stations  one  day  in  advance  of  the  principal  storm. 
The  latter  appears  first  as  rain  at  Fort  Towson,  on 
the  nineteenth,  moving  north  and  curving  to  the  east 
— its  center  passing  near   St.  Louis,  and  south  of 
Quebec,  and  the  whole  storm  enlarging  as  it  advanced. 
Take  another  instance.     Since  the  thaw  it  has  not 
been  quite  as   cold  as  before;    but  the  rain-soaked 
snow  is  hard  and  solid,  the  ground,  where  the  snow 
was  blown  or  worn  off,  icy  and  slippery — the  ther- 
mometer falls  during  the  night  to  about  12°,  and 
rises   to  about  30°;    the  sun  makes  no  impression 
upon   the  snow;   the  firmament  is   of  the  deepest 
blue,  the  borealis  at  night  vivid.     "  0,  for  a  storm 
of  some  kind,  to  mitigate  the  still  severe  cold  ;"  for 
the  thaw  has   made  us  more  sensitive,   and  storm 
winds  do  blow  warm  in  their  season.     But  patience, 
it  will  come.     Another  day,  or  two,  perhaps,  pass: 
the  sun  rises  as  usual,  the  thermometer  has  the  same 
range  still.     "Long  cold  snap,"  we  exclaim;  "how 
long  will  it  last?" 


THE    WEATHER.  Ill 

A  change  is  coming,  but  this  time  it  will  snow. 
About  an  hour  or  two  after  surise  the  cirrus  threads 
are  discoverable  again  in  the  west,  but  now  they  are 
most  numerous  in  the  S.  W.  As  the  day  passes  on 
they  thicken  and  advance  toward  the  E.  N.  E.,  the  sun 
begins  to  be  obscured,  the  thermometer  rises,  and  it 
slowly  "  moderates."  There  is  a  snow  storm  ap- 
proaching from  the  S.  "W. 

But  the  thermometer  rises  slowly ;  it  must  get  up 
to  26°  or  28°  before  it  can  snow  much.  I  have 
known  in  one  instance,  at  Norwalk,  a  considerable 
fall  of  snow,  although  much  mingled  with  hail,  when 
the  thermometer  stood  at  13°  above  zero,  and  one,  a 
moderate  fall,  some  two  inches,  with  it  at  24°,  but 
these  were  exceptions.  The  snow  range  of  the  ther- 
mometer on  the  parallel  of  41°  north  latitude,  and 
south  of  it,  is  from  26°  to  30°  above  0°  ;  when  colder 
or  warmer  it  may  snow  to  whiten  the  ground,  or 
perhaps  barely  cover  it,  but  usually  rains  or  hails. 
We  have  seen  that  in  the  polar  regions,  according  to 
Dr.  Kane,  it  is  about  zero,  but  the  rise  of  the  ther- 
mometer there,  previous  to  the  snow,  was  about  the 
same  as  here,  i.  e.,  from  15°  to  25°.  This  fact  is  in- 
structive. Since  the  foregoing  was  written,  and  on 
the  7th  of  February,  1855,  a  snow-storm  of  con- 
siderable length  set  in,  with  the  thermometer  at  5°, 
and  continued  more  than  twenty-four  hours,  the 
thermometer  gradually  rising.  The  snow  was  very 
fine,  like  that  described  by  Arctic  voyagers  as 
falling  in  extreme  cold  weather. 

As  the  dense  and  darker  portions  of  the  storm  ap- 


112  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

proach,  and  although  the  sun  is  obscured,  and  the 
ground  frozen,  it  continues  to  moderate,  and  at  even- 
ing, when  the  thermometer  is  up  to  28°,  and  the  dense 
portion  of  the  storm  has  reached  us,  gently  and  in 
calmness  the  snow  begins  to  fall.     Perhaps  a  light 
air  following  the  storm,  or  the  presence  of  the  trade 
near  the  earth,  at  first  inclines  the  snow-flakes  to  the 
eastward.     This   is  frequently  so  at  the  commence- 
ment of  snow  storms.     Ere  long,  however,  the  wind 
rises  from  the  K.  E.,  and  the  snow  is  driven  against 
the  windows,  rounded  and  hardened  by  the  attrition 
of  its  flakes  upon  each  other,  in  their  descent  through 
the  eddying  and  opposite  currents.     The  next  da} 
we  rise  to  witness  a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  perhaps,  and 
a  continued  driving  JST.  E.  storm,  in  full  blast ;  the 
snow  whirling  and  settling  in  drifts  under  the  lee  of 
every  fence  or  building. 

Can  it  be,  you  ask,  that  this  driving  wind  is  but 
an  incident  of  the  storm?  the  result  of  attraction, 
while  the  storm  clouds  are  sailing  quietly  and  undis- 
turbed on  in  the  counter-trade  above,  directly  over 
the  gale  which  is  blowing  below  ?  It  is  even  so.  Nor 
has  it  "  backed  up,"  as  it  is  termed  by  those  who  have 
ascertained  that  it  has  commenced  snowing  first,  and 
cleared  off  first,  at  a  point  west  of  them.  You  saw, 
or  might  have  seen,  the  cirro-stratus  cloud  passing 
to  the  E.  N.  E.  in  the  afternoon,  and  until  the  snow- 
flakes  filled  the  air,  and  the  clouds  became  invisible. 
You  may  still  see  that  the  wind  will  die  away  before 
the  storm  breaks,  and  "  come  out"  gently  from  the 
S.  W.,  unless  it  should  back  into  the  northward  and 


THE    WEATHER.  113 

westward,  and  in  either  event  you  may  see  the  last 
of  the  storm  clouds,  as  you  did  see,  or  might  have 
seen  the  first  of  them,  pass  to  the  eastward.  Toward 
night  the  wind  dies  away,  and  the  storm  passes  off 
abruptly,  or  the  sky  becomes  clear  in  the  N.  W. 
Now  you  may  see  the  smooth  stratus  storm  cloud, 
continuous,  or  breaking  up  into  fragments  and  pass- 
ing off  to  the  east,  even  at  the  edge  which  borders 
the  clear  sky  in  the  west  or  north-west,  to  be  followed 
that  evening  or  the  next  day,  by  the  north-west 
wind  and  its  peculiar  fair-weather  scud. 

I  have  given  these  as  instances  illustrating  the 
manner  in  which  rain  and  snow  storms  originate  the 
surface  easterly  winds  in  winter. 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  they  commence 
ith  precisely  the  same  appearances  in  every  case  in 
./inter ;  much  less  in  summer.  There  is  very  great 
diversity  in  this  respect,  in  different  seasons,  and  in 
different  storms  during  the  same  season.  A  great 
many  different  and  accurate  descriptions  might  be 
given,  if  time  and  space  would  permit,  which  all 
would  recognize  as  truthful.  Yery  frequently  in 
summer,  and  sometimes  in  winter,  the  wind  will  set 
in  from  the  eastward,  and  blow  fresh  toward  a  storm, 
before  the  condensation  in  the  trade,  which  forms  the 
eastern  and  approaching  edge  of  the  storm,  has  as- 
sumed the  form  of  a  distinct  cloud.  Not  unfre- 
quently,  when  it  is  calm  next  the  surface,  a  narrow 
stratum  of  easterly  wind,  a  half  a  mile  or  a  mile 
above  the  earth,  may  be  seen  with  a  continuous  fog, 
condensing,  but  not  in  considerable  patches  like  the 


114  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

usual  scud,  running  with  great  rapidity  toward  the 
storm.     Such  a  stream  of  fog  blew  with  great  rapid- 
ity for  thirty -six  hours  toward  the  storm  which  in- 
undated Virginia   and  Pennsylvania,    in   1852,  and 
carried  away  the   Potomac    bridge  at  Washington. 
Such  a  stream  of  fog  was  visible  the  evening  before 
the  great  flood  of  1854,  which  inundated  Connecti- 
cut, and  curried  away  so  many  railroad  and  other 
bridges.   I  have  also  seen  such  a  stream  of  fog  running 
at  about  the  same  height,  when  it  was  calm  at  the 
surface,   from  the   S.  W.    toward   a   violent  storm 
which  formed  over  central  New  England — and  from 
the  north  toward  a  heavy  storm  passing  south  of  us. 
Such   strata  form,  as   far   as  I  have  been  able   to 
discover,  the  middle  current  of  storms  which  are  ac- 
companied with  very  heavy  falls   of  rain.      These 
double  currents  are  much  more  common  than  is  sup- 
posed.   East  of  the  Alleghanies,  short  and  heavy  rain 
storms,  which  commence  north-east,  hauling  to  the 
south  and  lighting  up  about  mid-day  after  a  very  rainy 
forenoon,  frequently  have  a  S.  E.  or  S.  S.  E.  middle 
current  of  this  character,  which  involves  the  whole 
surface  atmosphere  when  the  storm  has  nearly  passed, 
and  the  N.  E.  wind  dies  away,  and  the  wind  seems 
to  haul  to  the  S.  S.  E.  and  S. ;  so  that  it  is  rather  the 
prevalence  of  a  different  and  coexisting  current,  than  a 
hauling  of  the  same  wind,  which  marks  the  period 
of  lighting  up  in  the  south. 

Sometimes  the  easterly  wind  will  set  in  and  blow 
a  day  or  two  before  the  border  of  the  storm  reaches 
us.  Sometimes  the  storm  is  passing,  or  will  pass,  in 


THE    WEATHER.  115 

its  lateral  southern  extension,  south  of  us,  and  the 
condensation  in  the  trade  extends  over  us  sufficiently 
dense  to  induce  an  easterly  current  beneath  it,  but 
not  dense  enough  to  drop  rain,  and  then  we  have 
a  dry  north-easter.  I  can  not,  within  the  limits  I 
have  prescribed,  allude  to  all  the  peculiarities  attend- 
ing the  induction  and  attraction  of  an  easterly  wind, 
by  the  storm  in  the  counter-trade.  They  are  readily 
noticeable  by  the  attentive  and  discriminating  ob- 
server, and  their  existence  and  cause  is  all  with  which 
I  have  to  do  at  present. 

Winds  from  the  north,  or  any  point  from  N.  N.  E. 
to  N.  N.  W.,  are  comparatively  infrequent  in  the 
United  States,  east  of  the  Alleghanies — though  it  is 
otherwise  in  the  vicinity  of  the  great  lakes. 

Sometimes  the  wind  "backs,"  as  sailors  term  it, 
during  a  N.  E.  storm,  from  the  N.  E.  through  the 
K  N.  E.,  K,  and  K  N.  W.  to  K  W.  When  this 
takes  place,  it  is  toward  the  close  of  the  storm. 
Occasionally,  though  very  rarely,  it  continues  to 
storm  after  the  wind  has  passed  the  point  of  N.  -N.  E., 
and  until  it  gets  N.  W.  I  have  known  a  few  in- 
stances in  the  course  of  thirty  years,  and  but  a  few. 
They  are  exceptions — rare  exceptions.  When  the 
wind  thus  backs  from  the  N.  E.  to  the  N.  W.  through 
the  N.,  you  may  be  very  certain  that  the  body  of  the 
storm,  or  at  least  the  point  of  greatest  intensity  and 
greatest  attraction,  is  at  the  time  passing  to  the  south- 
ward of  you.  This  is  most  commonly  the  course  of  the 
wind  when  the  storm  extends  far  south  and  lasts  seve- 
ral days,  and  does  not  extend  north  far,  or  if  so,  with 


116  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

much  intensity,  beyond  the  point  of  observation. 
The  change  of  the  wind  is  explained  by  the  situation 
of  the  focus  of  intensity  and  attraction,  to  the  south 
of  the  observer,  and  its  passage  by  on  that  side. 

Probably  in  locations  further  north  and  (as  I  think 
I  have  observed)  south  of  the  lakes,  it  may  be  more 
frequent  than  upon  the  parallel  of  44°  east  of  the 
Alleghanies  (which  is  as  far  north  as  I  have  observ- 
ed), inasmuch  as  the  further  north  the  locality,  the 
more  likely  storms  and  other  disturbances  in  the 
counter-trade  will  be  to  pass  to  the  southward  of  it. 

Between  the  N.  E.  and  S.  E.  the  wind  may  blow 
from  any  point,  before  and  during  storms,  and  in  a 
clear  day  in  the  morning,  as  a  light  variable  breeze, 
or,  after  mid-day,  toward  approaching  showers.  I 
have  known  it  blow  all  day  during  a  storm  from  due 
east;  to  change  back  and  forth  between  south-east 
and  north-east,  and  to  blow  for  hours  from  any  in- 
termediate point — as  different  portions  of  the  storm 
were  of  different  intensity,  and  exerted  a  more  or 
less  powerful  inducing  influence  ;  and  doubtless  this 
often  takes  place  at  sea.  It  depends  upon  the  situa- 
tion of  the  focus  of  attraction  of  the  storm,  its  shape 
relative  to  the  particular  locality,  and  with  reference 
to  the  atmosphere  east  of  it,  and  peculiar  local  mag- 
netic action;  or,  as  is  sometimes  the  case  in  low 
latitudes,  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  storm  is  made 
up  of  many  imperfectly  connected  showers,  which 
have  different  force,  and  induce  changeable  and 
baffling  winds. 

The  inducing  and  attracting  influence  of  the  ap- 


THE    WEATHER.  117 

preaching  storm  is  exerted  sooner,  and  with  most 
force,  upon  the  surface  atmosphere,  over  bodies  of 
water  like  the  ocean  and  the  lakes.  Thus,  the  wind 
will  set  from  the  eastward  toward  an  approaching 
storm  out  upon  Long  Island  Sound,  for  hours  before 
it  is  felt  upon  either  shore ;  and  when  all  is  calm  in 
the  evening  on  land,  and  often  before  the  moon 
forms  a  halo  or  circle  in  the  milky  condensation  of 
the  approaching  storm,  or  any  sign  of  condensation 
is  visible,  the  breaking  of  the  waves  upon  the  shores 
may  be  heard.  Doubtless  this  may  be  observed  on 
the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  at  other  points. 

This  power  of  attracting  the  surface  atmosphere 
from  bodies  of  water  like  the  ocean  and  the  great  lakes, 
will  account  for  two  apparent  anomalies,  mentioned 
by  Mr.  Blodget  in  a  valuable  and  instructive  article 
read  to  the  Scientific  Convention,  in  1853,  regarding 
the  annual  fall  of  rain  over  the  United  States. 

First — the  influence  of  mountains  in  extracting  the 
water  from  the  atmospheric  currents  which  pass  over 
them,  is  well  known  and  readily  explainable.  Mr. 
Blodget,  however,  found  that  the  source  of  our  rains, 
whatever  it  might  be,  when  it  reached  the  Alleghan- 
ies,  was  so  far  exhausted  of  its  moisture  that  those 
mountains  extracted  less  from  it  than  fell  to  the  west- 
ward, by  some  five  to  ten  inches  annually ;  and  that 
the  fall  of  rain  upon  them  was  less  than  upon  the 
Atlantic  slope  eastward  of  them,  to  the  ocean.  This 
does  not  accord  with  observation  elsewhere,  but  is 
easily  explained.  As  the  storm  approaches  the 
ocean,  it  attracts  in  under  it  the  surface  atmosphere 


118  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

of  the  ocean,  loaded  with  vapor,  condensing  in  the 
form  of  fog  and  scud,  as  it  becomes  subject  to  the  in- 
creasing influence  of  the  storm.  Although  the  scud 
and  fog  would  not  of  itself  make  rain,  it  aids  materi- 
ally in  increasing  the  quantity  of  that  which  falls 
through  it.  The  drops,  by  attraction  and  contact, 
enlarge  themselves  as  they  pass  through,  in  the  same 
manner  as  a  drop  of  water  will  do  in  running  down 
a  pane  of  glass  which  is  covered  with  moisture.  The 
small  drop  which  starts  from  the  upper  portion  of  a 
fifteen-inch  pane,  will  sometimes  more  than  double 
its  size  before  it  reaches  the  bottom.  It  is  by  this 
power  of  attracting  the  surface  atmosphere,  which  con- 
tains the  moisture  of  evaporation,  under  it,  and  inducing 
condensation  in  it,  that  the  moisture  of  evaporation  which 
rarely  rises  very  far  in  the  atmosphere  is  made  to  fall 
again  during  storms  and  showers.  This  attraction  of 
a  moist  atmosphere  from  the  ocean  accounts  for  the 
excess  of  rain  on  the  east  of  the  Alleghanies,  compared 
with  its  fall  upon  them  So  the  great  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  is  comparatively  level,  and  less  of  its 
water  runs  off  than  of  that  which  falls  upon  the 
Alleghanies.  There  is,  therefore,  more  moisture  of 
evaporation  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  former  to  be 
thus  precipitated  and  add  to  the  annual  supply  of 
rain  upon  that  valley,  and  it  exceeds  that  which  falls 
upon  the  Alleghaniep.  Those  mountains,  too,  are 
elevated  but  about  1,500  feet  above  the  table-lands  at 
their  base,  and  exert  little  influence  on  the  counter- 
trade. If  they  were  6,000  or  8,000  feet  high,  a  dif- 
ferent state  of  things  would  exist. 


THE    WEATHER.  119 

Second — Mr.  Blodget  found  the  quantity  of  rain 
which  fell  in  Iowa,  and  to  the  south  and  west  of  the 
lake  region,  to  be  greater  than  fell  over  the  lake 
region  itself.  This  is  doubtless  in  part  owing  to  the 
same  cause.  The  counter-trade,  in  a  stormy  state,  at- 
tracts the  surface  atmosphere  from  the  lake  region, 
with  its  evaporated  moisture,  before  it  arrives  over 
it,  and  therefore  more  rain  falls  S.  "W.  of  the  lake 
region  than  upon  it.  This  power  of  attracting  the 
surface  wind  of  the  ocean  in  under  it,  produces  the 
heavy  gales  which  affect  our  coast,  and  which  are 
rarely  felt  west  of  the  Alleghanies  to  any  consider- 
able degree ;  and  a  storm  coming  from  the  "W.  S.  W., 
extending  a  thousand  miles  or  more  from  S.  S.  E.  to 
N.  N.  "W.,  may  have  the  wind  set  in  violently  at 
S.  E.  on  the  southern  coast  first,  and  at  later  .peri- 
ods, successively,  at  points  further  north,  and  thus 
induce  the  belief  that  the  storm  traveled  from  south 
to  north. 

Mr.  Eedfield  finding  that  some  of  the  gales  which  he 
investigated,  particularly  that  of  September  3d,  1821, 
did  not  extend  far  inland,  and  commenced  at  later 
periods  regularly,  at  more  northern  points,  concluded 
that  the  gale  traveled  along  the  line  of  the  coast  to 
the  northward.  In  this,  and  in  relation  to  the  storm 
of  1821  (and  perhaps  some  others),  he  has  been  de- 
ceived. My  recollections  of  that  storm  are  accurate 
and  distinct.  But  I  shall  recur  to  this  again  when 
I  come  to  speak  of  his  theory. 

Toward  storms,  or  belts  of  showers  which  would 
be  storms  if  it  were  not  summer  and  the  tropical 


120  TH$    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

tendency  to  showers  active  in  the  trade,  which  pass 
mainly  to  the  north  of  us,  or  commence  north  and 
pass  over  us,  condensing  south  while  progressing 
east,  the  wind  may  commence  blowing  before  the 
body  of  the  storm  reaches  us,  from  any  point  be- 
tween south  by  west  and  south  east,  particularly  in 
the  summer  season  and  in  the  afternoon.  "When  the 
rain  in  a  storm  of  this  character  sets  in,  in  the  night, 
it  will  sometimes  haul  into  the  S.  E.,  if  the  focus  of 
attraction  be  situated  north  of  us,  and  so  remain 
until  just  before  the  storm  is  to  break. 

There  are,  however,  a  class  of  southerly  summer 
winds  which  deserve  more  particular  notice.  For 
two  or  three  months  in  the  year — say  from  the 
middle  of  June  to  the  20th  of  August — storms  on 
the  eastern  part  of  the  continent,  except  in  wet  sea- 
sons, are  rare,  and  most  of  our  rain  is  derived  from 
showers.  During  these  periods  belts  of  drought  are 
frequent,  sometimes  in  one  locality,  and  sometimes  in 
another,  extending  with  considerable  regularity  from 
W.  S.  W.  to  E.  1ST.  E.  in  the  course  of  the  counter- 
trade, while  rain  falls  in  frequent  and  almost  daily 
showers  to  the  northward  or  southward  of  them.  If 
the  daily  rains  are  at  the  north,  over  the  belt  of 
drought,  S.  S.  W.  and  S.  W.  by  S.  winds  blow, 
sometimes  with  cumuli  or  scud,  during  the  middle 
of  the  day  and  afternoon,  to  underlie  the  showery 
counter-trade  on  the  north  of  the  line  of  drought. 
Thus,  sometimes  nearly  every  day  for  several  days, 
the  evaporated  moisture  of  the  dry  belt  will  be  carried 
over  to  increase  the  store  of  those  who  have  a  sum- 


THE    TV  EAT  HE!..  121 

• 

cient  supply  without.  During  the  latter  part  of  the 
afternoon  the  clouds  in  the  west  may  look  very- 
much  like  a  gathering  shower,  but  the  attractions  of 
the  counter-trade  fifty  or  one  or  two  hundred  miles 
to  the  north,  will  absorb  them  all,  and  at  nightfall 
the  wind  will  haul  to  the  S.  "W.  on  a  line  with  the 
counter -trade,  and  die  away. 

If  there  be  a  drought  on  any  given  line  of  latitude, 
and  frequent  showers  or  heavy  rains  at  the  south  of 
it,  although  there  may  not  be  a  like  surface-wind, 
with  cumuli  and  fog,  blowing  from  the  north  toward 
it,  yet  a  general,  gentle  set  of  the  atmosphere,  from 
the  K  N.  W.,  or  N.  W.,  or  other  northerly  point, 
toward  the  belt  of  rains,  some  distance  above  the 
earth,  will  often  be  observable,  with  a  barometer  con- 
tinually depressed,  and  perhaps  a  cool  atmosphere. 

During  set  fair  weather,  when  the  attracting  belt  of 
rains  is  far  north,  on  the  north  shore  of  Long  Island 
Sound,  the  wind,  like  a  sea  breeze,  will  set  in  gently 
from  about  S.  S.  E.  or  S.  by  E.  in  the  forenoon, 
blowing  a  gentle  breeze  through  the  day,  and  hauling 
to  W.  S.  W.  on  a  line  with  the  trade  at  nightfall,  and 
dying  away.  During  a  drought  I  have  known  this  to 
happen  for  seventeen  successive  days.  It  is  obvious 
to  an  attentive  observer  that  this  is  the  result  of  the 
influence  of  the  sun  in  exciting  the  magnetic  influ- 
ence of  the  earth,  and  producing  a  state  of  the  trade 
not  unlike  that  which  induces  the  formation  of  cu- 
muli, and  which  attracts  the  surface  atmosphere  from 
the  Sound  in  over  the  land :  for  the  tendency  to  cumu- 
lus condensation  precedes  the  breeze,  and  the  breeze  is 

6 


122  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

often  wanting  in  the  hottest  days  where  no  such 
tendency  to  the  formation  of  cumuli  exists.  The 
same  is  true  of  sea  breezes  elsewhere.  They  do  not 
blow  in  upon  some  of  the  hottest  surfaces.  "Where 
they  do  exist,  they  do  not  always  blow,  but  are 
wanting  during  the  hottest  days;  and  careful  ob- 
servers have  identified  their  appearance  with  the 
formation  of  cumuli,  or  other  condensation,  upon 
the  hills  inland.  They  are  not,  therefore,  the  result 
of  ascending  currents  of  heated  air. 

The  received  theory  regarding  sea  and  land  breezes 
is  a  mistaken  one  in  another  respect.  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  a  land  wind  corresponding  in  force  to, 
and  the  opposite  of,  the  sea  breeze — occasioned  by 
the  comparative  warmth  of  the  ocean.  These  breezes 
blow  mainly  within  the  trade-wind  region.  Of 
course  they  are  either  beneath  the  belt  of  rains  or 
the  adjoining  trades.  They  are  said  to  be,  and 
doubtless  are,  most  active  and  strongly  marked  on 
lines  of  coast,  particularly  the  Malabar  coast,  and 
where  the  trade- winds  are  drawing  usually  from 
them.  In  the  day-time,  when  the  action  of  the  sun 
increases  the  action  of  the  magnetic  currents  upon  the 
land,  or  there  are  elevations  inland  which  approach 
the  counter-trade,  and  especially  if  it  is  elevated 
near  the  coast,  as  the  Malabar  coast  is  by  the 
Ghauts,  the  attraction  of  this  atmosphere  over  it  re- 
verses the  trade,  or  inclines  it  in  upon  the  land, 
and  it  blows  in  obliquely  or  perpendicularly,  ac- 
cording to  the  relative  trending  of  the  coast  and 
the  direction  of  the  surface-trade.  Thus,  where  isl- 


THE    WEATHER.  123 

ands  are  situated  within  the  range  of  the  trades, 
the  latter  will  be  reversed  during  the  day  on  the 
leeward  side,  but  continue  to  blow  as  land  winds 
during  the  night.  So  they  are  sometimes  deflect- 
ed in  upon  the  land  on  the  sides,  during  the  day, 
and  in  like  manner  return  to  their  course  in  the 
night.  So,  too,  the  north-east  trades  of  Northern 
Africa,  are  occasionally  (though  feebly  where  the  coast 
is  flat)  deflected  during  the  day-time,  and  blow  in 
as  N.  W.  winds.  Upon  the  southern  coast  of  Africa 
the  S.  E.  trade  is  deflected,  and  blows  in  as  a  S.  "W. 
wind.  Upon  the  south-western  coast  of  North 
America,  the  N.  E.  trades  are  deflected  in  like 
manner,  and  so  are  the  S.  E.  trades  upon  the  western 
coast  of  South  America.  "Where  the  coast  moun- 
tain ranges  are  very  elevated,  as  upon  the  western 
coast  of  the  American  continent,  this  attracting  in- 
fluence and  consequent  deflection  extends  to  a  con- 
siderable distance  seaward,  and  hence  the  westerly 
winds  of  California,  etc.  It  must  be  understood 
that  we  are  now  speaking  of  the  winds  which  blow 
within  the  range  and  during  the  existence  of  the 
trade-winds  or  the  presence  of  the  dry  belt — for  the 
trades  are  not  always  perceptible  on  the  land.  Cap- 
tain Fitzroy  thus  describes  the  sea  breezes  of  the 
western  coast  of  Peru,  at  23°  south  latitude.  "  The 
tops  of  the  hills  on  the  coast  of  Peru  are  frequently 
covered  with  heavy  clouds.  The  prevailing  winds 
are  from  S.  S.  E.  to  S.  W.,  seldom  stronger  than  a 
fresh  breeze,  and  often  very  slight.  Sometimes  duriny 
the  summer,  for  three  or  four  successive  days,  there  is  not 


124  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

a  breath  of  wind,  the  sky  is  beautifully  clear,  with  a 
nearly  vertical  sun.  On  the  days  that  a  sea  breeze 
sets  in,  it  generally  commences  about  ten  in  the  morn- 
ing, then  light  and  variable,  but  gradually  increasing 
till  one  or  two  in  the  afternoon.  From  that  time  a 
steady  breeze  prevails  till  near  sunset,  when  it  begins 
to  die  away,  and  soon  after  the  sun  is  down  there  is 
a  calm.  About  eight  or  nine  in  the  evening  light 
winds  come  off  the  land,  and  continue  till  sun-rise, 
when  it  again  becomes  calm  until  the  sea  breeze  sets 
in  as  before." 

To  illustrate  this  further,  I  take  the  following 
letter  from  Professor  Espy's  Philosophy  of  Storms : 

CLINTON  HOTEL,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  20,  1839. 
To  PROFESSOR  ESPT, 

DEAR  SIR, — Understanding  you  are  desirous  of  collecting  curi- 
ous meteorological  facts,  I  take  the  liberty  of  communicating  to  you 
what  I  saw  in  the  month  of  December,  1815,  at -the  Island  of  Owhy- 
hee.  I  lay  at  that  island  in  the  Cavrico  Bay,*  in  which  Captain 
Cook  was  killed,  three  weeks,  and  every  day  during  that  time,  very 
soon  after  the  sea  breeze  set  in,  say  about  nine  o'clock,  a  cloud  began 
to  form  round  the  lofty  conical  mountain  in  that  island,  in  the  form 
of  a  ring,  as  the  wooden  horizon  surrounds  the  terrestrial  artificial 
globe,  and  it  soon  began  to  rain  in  torrents,  and  continued  through 
the  day.  In  the  evening  the  sea  breeze  died  away  and  the  rain 
ceased,  and  the  cloud  soon  disappeared,  and  it  remained  entirely 
clear  till  after  the  sea  breeze  set  in  next  morning.  The  land  breeze 
prevailed  during  the  night,  and  was  so  cool  as  to  render  fires  pleas- 
ant to  the  natives,  which  I  observed  they  constantly  kindled  in  the 
evening.  I  was  particularly  struck  with  the  phenomena  of  the  cloud 
surrounding  the  mountain,  when  none  was  ever  seen  in  any  other 
part  of  the  sky,  and  none  then  till  after  the  sea  breeze  set  in,  in  the 
morning,  which  it  did  with  wonderful  regularity.  The  mountain 
stood  in  bold  relief,  and  its  top  could  always  be  seen  from  where  the 

*  Kearakakua  Bay  (called  Cavrico  above),  is  on  the  S.  "W.  side  of  the 
island,  and  the  trade  was  reversed  during  the  day  by  the  cloud  con- 
densation inland. 


THE    WEATHER.  125 

ship  lay,  above  the  cloud,  even  when  it  was  the  densest  and  blackest, 
with  the  lightning  flashing  and  the  thunder  rolling,  as  it  did  every 
day.  I  passed  up  through  the  cloud  once,  and  I  know,  therefore, 
how  violently  it  rains,  especially  at  the  lower  side  of  the  cloud.  This 
rain  never  extends  beyond  the  base  of  the  mountain;*  and  all  round 
the  horizon  there  is  eternally  a  cloudless  sky.  The  dews,  however, 
are  very  heavy,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  suffering  for  want  of  rain. 
That  this  state  of  things  continues  all  the  year,  I  have  no  doubt, 
from  what  an  American,  by  name  Sears,  who  had  spent  four  years 
there,  told  me ;  he  had  seen  no  change  in  regard  to  the  rain. 

CALEB  WILLIAMS. 
Providence,  R.  I. 

Similar  citations  might  be  made  to  show  that  the 
sea  breeze  is  induced  by  the  same  cause  which  forms 
the  clouds  over  the  land — that  it  is  frequently  want- 
ing for  three  or  four  days  under  a  vertical  sun, 
and  that  the  land  breeze  blows  gently  and  not  with 
corresponding  force  where  there  is  no  surface  trade, 
or  where  it  is  deflected,  not  reversed. 

A  succession  of  showers  passing  across  the  coun- 
try to  the  north,  within  one  hundred  to  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles,  almost  always  produces  a 
southerly  wind  to  the  southward  of  them.  There 
is  more  that  is  peculiar  about  these  belts  of  show- 
ers. Although  they  consist  of  large  highly-elec- 
trified cumuli,  there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  cirro- 
stratus  condensation  in  the  lower  part  of  the  trade 
over  them;  and  it  is  that  condensation  rather  than 
the  cumuli,  which  attracts  the  surface  atmosphere 
from  the  south.  They  would  be  storms,  if  the  at- 
mosphere had  not  a  summer-tropical  tendency  to 

*  Lieutenant  Wilkes  spent  twenty  days  upon  the  top  of  this  or  an 
adjoining  mountain,  and  his  observations  there  will  be  alluded  to 
in  another  connection. 


126  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

showers.  There  is,  too,  a  tendency  in  these  belts  to 
extend  to  the  south,  and  it  is  generally,  as  far  as  I 
have  observed,  the  extension  southerly  of  those 
belts,  by  the  formation  of  new  showers  which  termi- 
nate the  "hot  spells"  or  "heated  terms"  of  mid- 
summer. The  very  oppressive  and  fatal  one  of  the 
summer  of  1853,  was,  in  character,  a  type  of  all — 
although  exceeding  them  in  severity.  The  first 
three  or  four  days  were  calm,  hot,  and  smoky — an 
appearance  which  attends  all  similar  periods  more  or 
less,  refracting  the  red  ray  of  the  light,  and  giving 
the  sun  a  peculiar  dry- weather,  red  appearance. 
(This  smoky  haze  is  usually  atmospheric,  and  oc- 
casional^ seen  even  in  March,  although  not  unfre- 
quently  fires  in  the  woods  fill  the  air  with  actual 
smclie,  and  very  much  increase  it,  and  when  this  is  so, 
the  odor  of  the  smoke  is  often  perceptible.)  Then 
•  we  began  to  have  a  fresh  south-west  by  south  breeze 
in  the  day-time,  hauling  to  the  south-west,  and  dying 
away  at  nightfall.  The  next  day,  the  tendency  to 
condensation  and  consequent  belt  of  showers  having 
extended  further  south  and  approached  nearer  to 
us,  the  S.  S.  W.  wind  blew  fresher  toward  it,  and 
did  not  die  away  at  nightfall.  During  the  evening 
the  reflection  of  the  lightning  playing  upon  the 
tops  of  the  thunder  clouds,  just  visible  at  the  north 
(heat-lightning,  it  is  termed,  because  supposed  to  be 
unaccompanied  by  thunder,  but  in  reality  lightning 
reflected  from  clouds  at  too  great  a  distance  for  the 
thunder  to  be  heard),  and  the  continuance  of  the 
southerly  wind  after  nightfall,  gave  sure  evidence  of 


THE    WEATHER.  127 

the  coming  showers  the  next  day,  and  an  end  of  the 
excessive  heat  for  that  time.  So  ended  both  of  those 
long-to-be-remembered  "  heated  terms"  of  1853. 

The  same  is  probably  true  of  the  interior  of  the 
country  every  where.  Lieutenant  Maury,  in  the 
course  of  his  investigations,  and  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain the  direction  of  the  winds  in  the  Mississippi 
valley  during  rain,  addressed  a  number  of  gentle- 
men, and  received  their  replies,  which  are  published 
with  his  wind  and  current  charts.  Several  answered, 
among  other  things,  that,  "  whenever  the  lightning 
appears  to  linger  at  the  north  at  eventide,  rain  almost 
invariably  follows  speedily ;  not  so  in  the  south." 
Thus  it  frequently  is  with  us.  If,  during  a  hot,  dry 
time,  of  a  few  days  continuance,  the  lightning  so 
lingers  in  the  evening,  and  the  wind  continues  to 
"blow  fresh  froni  the  southward  after  nightfall,  showers 
will  generally  follow  within  forty-eight  hours,  most 
commonly  the  next  day,  and  a  cool  N.  N.  W.  or 
K.  "W.  wind  with  a  favorable  change  ensue.  Such, 
at  least,  has  been  the  result  of  my  observation  for 
many  years. 

Indeed  this  seems  to  be  the  general  law  in  summer 
in  the  Mississippi  valley,  where  the  easterly  winds  are 
not  so  common  as  with  us.  To  illustrate  this  fur- 
ther, I  copy  from  a  recent  work  by  T.  Bassnett,  en- 
titled the  "  Mechanical  Theory  of  Storms,"  two  short 
extracts,  showing  the  manner  in  which  belts  of  show- 
ers extend  southerly,  while  progressing  north-east- 
wardly,  at  Ottawa.  The  first  occurred  in  August, 
1853  ;  the  last,  December,  1852.  The  first  was  a 


128  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

belt  of  showers ;  the  latter  would  have  been  in 
August,  but  the  lateness  of  the  season  changed  its 
character  somewhat,  though  not  entirely,  to  a  more 
regular  rain,  especially  toward  the  close. 

"  AUGUST  6th. — Very  fine  and  clear  all  day :  wind  from  S.  "W. ;  a 
light  breeze ;  8  P.M.  frequent  flashes  of  lightning  in  the  northern 
sky ;  10  P.M.,  a  low  bank  of  dense  ctouds  in  north,  fringed  with  cirri, 
visible  during  the  flash  of  the  lightning;  12  P.M.,  same  continues. 

"  7th. — Very  fine  and  clear  morning ;  wind  S.  "W.  moderate ;  noon, 
clouds  accumulating  in  the  northern  half  of  the  sky;  wind  fresher, 
S.  W. ;  3  P.M.,  a  clap  of  thunder  over  head,  and  black  cumuli  in 
west,  north,  and  east ;  4  P.M.,  much  thunder  and  scattered  showers ; 
six  miles  west  rained  very  heavily ;  6  P.M.,  the  heavy  clouds  passing 
over  to  the  south ;  10  P.M.,  clear  again  in  north. 

"  8th. — Clear  all  day ;  wind  the  same  (S.  W.) ,  a  hazy  bank  visible 
all  along  on  southern  horizon." 

"DECEMBER  21st,  1852. — "Wind  N.  E.,  fine  weather. 

22d. — Thick,  hazy  morning,  wind  east,  much  lighter  in  S.  E.  than 
in  N.  "W. ;  8  A.M.,  a  clear  arch  in  S.  E.  getting  more  to  south ;  noon, 
very  black  in  W.  N.  W. ;  above,  a  broken  layer  of  cirro-cumulus,  the 
sun  visible  sometimes  through  the  waves ;  wind  around  to  S.  E., 
and  fresher;  getting  thicker  all  day;  10  P.M.,  wind  south,  strong ; 
thunder,  lightning,  and  heavy  rain  all  night,  with  strong  squalls  from 
south. 

23d. — "Wind  S.  "W.,  moderate,  drizzly  day  j  10  P.M.,  wind  west, 
and  getting  clearer." 

It  is  obvious  that  the  showers  at  the  north  passed 
east  on  the  evening  of  the  6th  of  August ;  that  new 
showers,  taking  the  same  course,  originated  in  the 
north,  but  more  southerly  next  day,  with  S.  "W. 
wind,  and  that  they  passed  east,  and  others  formed  suc- 
cessively further  south,  which  passed  over  the  place 
of  observation  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  that  others 
formed  south  and  passed  east  during  the  night  and 
next  day,  visible  in  a  bank  on  the  southern  horizon. 

Later  or  earlier  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  these 


THE    WEATHER.  129 

brisk  afternoon  southerly  winds  continuing  after 
nightfall,  indicate  moderate  rains  from  a  rainy  belt 
extending  in  a  similar  manner,  without  the  cumuli 
and  thunder  which  attend  those  of  mid-summer.  I 
shall  recur  to  this  class  of  showers  and  storms  when 
we. come  to  their  classification. 

Light  surface  winds  from  south-west  to  west  are  not 
often  storm-winds,  and  are  usually  those  which  the 
trade  near  the  earth  draws  after  it.  Sometimes  the 
trade  seems  to  draw  the  surface  wind  from  the  S.  W. 
and  W.  S.  W.  with  considerable  rapidity,  and  some 
scud  a  little  distance  above  the  earth.  When  this  is 
so,  it  will  be  found  that  a  storm  has  passed  to  the 
north  of  us,  or  a  belt  of  rains  is  passing  north,  which 
may  or  may  not  have  sufficient  southern  extension 
to  reach  us.  When  there  have  been  heavy  storms 
at  the  south  in  the  spring,  especially  if  of  snow,  the 
S.  W.  wind  which  the  trade  draws  after  it,  and  which 
comes  from  the  snowy  or  chilled  surface,  is  exceed- 
ingly "  raw" — that  is,  damp  and  chilly,  although  not 
thermometrically  very  cold.  Probably  every  one 
has  noticed  these  "  raw"  S.  W.  winds  of  spring. 

Usually,  when  storms  and  showers,  which  have 
not  a  southern  lateral  extension,  pass  off,  the  trade  is 
very  near  the  earth,  and  a  light  S.  W.  wind  or  calm 
follows  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period.  Not  unfre- 
quently,  however,  our  N".  E.  storms  terminate  with  a 
S.  W.  wind,  shifting  suddenly,  perhaps,  just  at  the 
close  of  the  storm,  during  what  is  sometimes  called 
a  "  clearing-off-shower,"  or,  more  frequently,  dying 
gradually  away  as  a  K  E.  wind,  and  coming  out 

6* 


130  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

gently  from  the  S.  "W.,  following  the  retreating  cloud 
of  the  storm.  In  such  cases  it  Is  said  to  "  clear  off 
warm." 

With  us  the  wind  rarely  blows  from  the  west, 
except  while  slowly  hauling  from  some  southerly  point 
to  the  N.  W.  It  is  probably  otherwise  east  of  the 
lakes  and  in  some  other  localities  to  the  north-west. 

Occasionally,  and  most  frequently  in  March,  a  "W. 
to  W.  N.  "W.  wind  follows  storms,  and  blows  with 
considerable  severity,  with  large  irregular,  squally 
masses  of  scud,  and  sometimes  a  gale.  Such  was  the 
character  of  the  dry  gale  which  crossed  the  country, 
particularly  Northern  New  York,  in  March,  1854, 
doing  great  damage.  These  westerly  winds  are 
always  accompanied  by  a  continued  depression  of  the 
barometer,  and  peculiar,  foggy,  scuddy,  condensa- 
tion, and  should  be  distinguished  with  care  from  the 
regular  and  peculiar  N.  "W".  wind,  as  they  may  be,  by 
the  continued  depression  of  the  barometer,  and  the 
character  of  the  scud.  They  are  doubtless  magnetic 
storms. 

The  remaining  surface  wind,  the  N.  W.,  the 
genuine  Boreas  of  our  climate,  the  invariable  fair- 
weather  wind,  is  one  of  great  interest.  It  is  unique 
and  peculiar.  It  is  not  the  left-hand  wind  of  a 
rotary  gale,  and  has  no  immediate  connection  with 
the  storm.  I  have  known  it  blow  moderately,  fifteen 
successive  days  in  winter;  rising  about  ten  A.M.,  and 
dying  away  at  nightfall.  Occasionally,  but  very 
rarely  indeed,  a  light  wind  exists  from  the  N.  W. 
during  a  storm,  owing  probably  to  a  focus  of  in- 


THE    WEATHER.  131 

tensity  in  relation  to  some  surface  the  storm  covers, 
like  the  focus  which  exhibits  itself  as  a  clearing-off 
shower  near  the  close  of  a  storm ;  but  the  real  fair- 
weather  Boreas  is  a  different  affair  altogether.  Let 
us  observe  with  care  its  peculiarities ;  they  are  in- 
structive. 

1st.  It*  rarely  blows  with  any  considerable  force 
beneath  the  trade  while  there  are  storm  clouds, 
or  any  considerable  condensation  in  it.  It  does  not 
interfere  with  that  reciprocal  action  which  takes 
place  between  the  trade  and  the  earth,  during  ap- 
proaching or  existing  storms.  I  have  frequently  seen 
it  with  its  peculiar  scud  clouds  in  the  N.  W.,  waiting 
for  the  storm  condensation  of  the  trade  to  pass  by, 
that  full  of  positive  electricity  it  might  commence  its 
sports :  rushing  and  eddying  along  the  surface,  lick- 
ing up  the  warm,  south  polar,  electric  rain,  which 
stood  in  pools  upon  the  ground,  or  rose  in  steamy 
vapor  from  the  surface,  and  with  its  cool  breath  dry  up 
the  muddy  roads  as  no  degree  of  heat  can  dry  them. 

The  annexed  figure  (14)  shows  the  appearance  of  the 
northern  edge  of  a  stratus  storm  cloud,  passing  off 
E.  K  E.  at  the  close  of  the  storm,  which  was  "ckar- 
ing  off  from  the  north-west"  It  is  from  a  daguerreo- 
type view,  looking  W.  N.  W.,  taken  at  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  Near  the 
horizon  may  be  seen  the  N.  W.  scud,  forming  in  the 
N.  W.  wind,  which  is  about  to  follow  the  retreating* 
edge  of  the  storm  cloud. 

Figure  15  is  from  a  daguerreotype  view,  taken  at 
eleven  o'clock  the  same  day,  when  the  storm  cloud 


132 


THE     PHILOSOP-HY    OF 


Fig.  14. 


had  passed  off  and  its  edge  remained  visible  only 
south  of  the  zenith,  and  the  north-east  scud  had  risen 
up  and  covered  the  northern  half  of  the  sky,  and  the 
wind  was  blowing  a  gale  from  that  quarter. 

Another  view  was  taken  about  two  P.M.  of  the 
same  day,  when  the  scud  had  a  very  dark,  gloomy 
appearance — as  dark  and  gloomy  as  those  of  a  Mexican 
norther — too  dark  to  represent  by  a  cut. 

Not  unfrequently  in  a  moist  summer  season,  after  a 
day  of  showers  or  rain,  which  have  had  an  extending 
•^rmation  or  lateral  extension  from  north  to  south,  it 
will  commence  blowing  in  the  morning,  and  en- 
courage the  hay-maker  with  the  hope  of  fine  weather. 
But  often  before  noon,  the  milky  stratus  condensation 
above  with  cumuli  below,  will  appear  in  the  trade ; 


THE    WEATHER.  133 

Fig.  15. 


NORTH  VIEW. 


the  N.  W.  wind  die  away  and  variable  airs  from  the 
east  or  south  appear,  to  be  followed  toward  night  by 
an  enlargement  of  the  cumuli  and  showers.  It 
rarely,  if  ever,  blows  fresh  till  the  storm  condensation 
of  the  trade  has  passed ;  or  continues  to  blow  after 
that  condensation  reappears.  "When  it  commences 
blowing  after  a  storm,  and  the  northern  edge  of  the 
storm  is  not  over  us,  we  may  frequently  see  the  latter 
low  down  in  the  S.  E.  passing  eastward. 

2d.  Its  scud  are  peculiar.  Every  one,  probably, 
has  noticed  them.  They  are  distinct,  more  or  less 
disconnected,  irregular,  with  every  form  between 
those  of  the  easterly  scud,  cumulus,  and  stratus,  ac- 
cording to  the  season.  If  large,  with  dark  under 


134  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

surfaces;  forming  rapidly  and  as  rapidly  dissolving ; 
rarely  dropping  any  rain,  sometimes  dropping  a 
flurry  of  snow,  in  November  or  March,  oftener  than 
at  any  other  period ;  sailing  away  to  the  S.  E.,  and 
casting  a  traveling  shadow  as  they  pass  on  over  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  Their  electricity,  particularly 
when  white,  is  probably  always  positive,  as  that  of 
all  whitish  clouds  is  supposed  to  be. 

3d.  It  is  emphatically  a  surface  wind.  The  incident 
storm  winds,  the  N.  E.  and  S.  E.,  frequently  commence 
blowing  under  the  storm,  toward  its  point  of  greatest 
intensity,  up  near  the  line  of  cirro-stratus  condensation, 
evidenced  by  the  running  scud ;  or  blow  there  with 
most  rapidity,  and  so  continue  for  hours  before  the 
whole  surface  atmosphere  from  thence  to  the  eafth 
becomes  involved  in  the  movement ;  and  sometimes 
without  being  felt  below  at  all.  Not  so  with  the  K. 
W.  wind ;  it  begins  at  the  surface  and  blows  there 
with  more  rapidity  than  above ;  it  seems  to  be  at- 
tracted by  the  earth ;  it  interposes  between  the  earth 
and  the  trade,  wedging  'the  trade  up  and  occupying 
its  place.  It  blows  under  at  all  seasons  of  the  year, 
but  most  readily  and  strongly  from  a  surface  of  snow 
whose  electricity  is  always  positive.  Hence  it  blows 
most  strongly  and  continuously  when  snow  has  fallen 
at  the  north,  and  prevails  during  winter  very  much 
in  proportion  to  the  extent  and  continuance  of  the 
covering  of  snow  which  invests  the  earth  in  that 
direction.  It  follows  after  storms,  and  particularly 
warm  rains,  during  the  autumn,  winter,  and  spring 
months,  which  have  a  lateral  southern  extension. 


THE    WEATHER.  135 

Whether  it  is  increased  by  the  snow  from  the  surface 
from  which  it  blows,  or  is  caused  by  the  same  mag- 
netic action  which  causes  the  great  fall  of  snow,  is  a 
question  we  shall  consider  hereafter. 

4th.  It  does  not  connect  or  mingle  with  the  trade 
current  in  any  way,  or  change  or  divert  the  course  of 
that  current ;  but  interposes  between  it  and  the  earth, 
elevating  the  trade  in  proportion  to  its  own  volume, 
above  the  influences  of  the  earth  (when  the  trade  be- 
comes free  from  condensation,  and  singularly  clear) ; 
and  raising  proportionately  the  barometer.  An  experi- 
enced observer  can  frequently  estimate,  with  consider- 
able accuracy,  the  rise  of  the  barometer,  by  measuring 
with  his  eye,  (when  the  clouds  will  enable  him  to  do 
so,)  the  depth  of  this  interposed  N".  W.  current.  The 
barometer  rarely  rises  after  a  storm,  for  twenty -four 
or  forty-eight  hours  if  the  wind  continues  at  any 
point  from  S.  "W.  to  "W.  N".  W.,  but  always  rapidly 
as  soon  as  the  genuine  N.  W.  current  with  any  con- 
siderable depth  interposes  and  elevates  the  trade. 

It  will  be  obvious  to  every  one,  I  think,  certainly, 
if  they  will  hereafter  study  the  subject  and  observe 
for  themselves,  that  the  N.  "W.  wind  does  not  blow 
away  the  storm ;  and  that  it  follows  after  it,  blowing 
over  the  surface  which  is  uncovered  by  the  storm ; 
rarely,  if  ever,  with  any  force  when  the  body  of  the 
storm  passed  south  of  us  ;  and  that  it  is  a  purely  sur- 
face wind,  seemingly  attracted  by  the  peculiar  mag- 
neto-electric state  in  which  the  surface  of  the  earth 
is  left,  compared  with  a  snow -clad  surface  to  the 
north,  by  a  recent  storm,  or  that  peculiar  state  of  the 


136  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

trade  which  is  left  by  the  action  of  the  storm.  It 
seems  to  follow  that  magnetic  wave  which,  passing 
from  north  to  south,  acts  in  its  course  upon  the 
counter- trade,  producing  the  storm,  or  belt  of  show- 
ers, and  giving  them  their  southern  lateral  extension, 
and  will  well  repay  future  telegraphic  investigation. 
Its  electricity  is  intensely  positive — that  of  the  earth 
by  the  action  of  the  storm  as  intensely  negative. 

5th.  This  1ST.  W.  wind  occurs  in  all  parts  of  the 
northern  hemisphere,  so  far  as  we  have  data  to  de- 
termine, and  its  corresponding  wind  from  the  S.  W. 
occurs  in  the  southern  hemisphere.  It  is  identical 
with  a  class  of  the  northers  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  as  a 
brief  analysis  of  the  character  of  the  latter  will  show. 

1st.  The  fall  and  winter  norther  is  a  dry  wind  with- 
out rain  or  falling  weather — so  is  our  K.  W.  wind. 

2d.  It  is  preceded  by  a  falling  barometer ;  S.  E. 
scud  and  rain  at  the  point  where  it  blows,  or  to  the 
eastward  of  it.  So  is  ours  when  it  blows  a  gale  in 
the  fall  and  spring  months,  which  bear  the  nearest 
resemblance  in  climatic  character  to  the  periods  when 
the  northers  blow.  With  this  distinction,  however, 
that  our  precedent  rains  either  pass  over  us  or  to  the 
southward,  the  direction  of  storms  being  E.  N.  E. ; 
their  precedent  storms  passing  over  or  to  the  east- 
ward of  them  as  they  move  more  to  the  northward. 

3d.  It  is  often  preceded  by  a  copious  dew ;  so  is 
ours — such  dews  often  following  light  fall  rains  in 
our  climate,  and  preceding  N.  W.  wind. 

4th.  The  most  peculiar  characteristic,  however,  is 
that  the  barometer  rises  rapidly  and  invariably  while 


THE    WEATHER.  137 

the  norther  prevails,  and  very  much  in  proportion 
to  its  violence.  The  same  is  true  of  our  genuine 
N.  W.  wind,  and  is  not  true  of  any  other  wind  on  this 
continent  which  I  have  observed  or  read  of. 

5th.  While  they  are  thus  alike  in  these  respects, 
they  are  unlike  in  no  respect. 

Mr.  Eedfield  has  traced  them  in  supposed  connec- 
tion with  storms  which  continue  from  that  vicinity 
across  the  United  States  to  the  E.  IS".  E.,  and  endeav- 
ored to  connect  them  with  those  storms,  as  the  left- 
hand  winds  of  a  rotary  gale.  Obviously,  I  think, 
they  are  identical  with  our  N.  W.  winds  which  also 
follow,  indeed,  but  are  distinct  from  the  storms. 

There  are  a  class  of  northers  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
— the  "  Nortes  del  Muero  Colorado" — sometimes  oc- 
curring in  the  summer  months,  beginning  at  N.  E., 
veering  about  and  settling  at  N.  N.  W.,  and  as  they 
decline  hauling  round  by  the  west  to  the  southward. 
These  winds  correspond  precisely  with  the  hurricane 
winds  of  the  "West  Indies,  and  are  doubtless  the 
incident  winds  of  a  storm  traveling  thence  to  the 
N.  N.  W.  precisely  as  our  N.  E.  or  E.  1ST.  E  gales 
are  incident  storm  winds  to  the  N.  E.  storms  of  our 
latitude. 

In  this  connection  we  will  look  at  the  peculiarities 
of  a  West  India  hurricane. 

"  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable,"  says  Mr.  Espy, 
speaking  of  the  storms  and  hurricanes  of  the  West 
Indies,  "  that  all  these  storms,  and  all  others  which 
have  been  traced  to  the  West  Indies,  traveled  N.  W.  al- 
most at  right  angles  to  the  direction  of  the  trade- 


138  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

wind  in  those  latitudes,  but  very  nearly,  if  not  exactly, 
in  the  direction  of  an  upper  current  of  the  air  known 
to  exist  there  toward  the  N.  W."  Substantially  the 
same  facts  have  been  repeated  by  Mr.  Kedfield,  and 
demonstrated  by  his  able  investigations,  both  there 
and  in  the  Eastern  Pacific,  and  are  confirmed  by  the 
observations  of  Edwards,  Lawson,  and  others,  while 
residents  there.  It  is  a  matter  of  surprise  that  gentle- 
men like  Messrs.  Kedfield  and  Espy,  who  have  cer- 
tainly displayed  great  ability  in  the  investigations  of 
meteorological  phenomena,  should  fail  to  recognize  a 
more  intimate  relation  between  this  upper  current 
and  the  storms  they  were  investigating,  and  to  detect 
the  general  laws  which  govern  both.  The  storms 
and  hurricanes  of  the  West  Indies  are  comparatively 
of  small  diameter,  and  have  little  advance  condensa- 
tion. When  they  pass  on  to  the  south-western  por- 
tion of  North  America  and  curve  to  the  N.  E.,  as 
they  frequently  do,  they  enlarge  in  front  and  at  the 
sides,  and  their  advance  condensation,  which  is  not 
dense  enough  to  drop  rain,  extends  in  some  cases 
from  one  to  three  hundred  miles ;  and  the  storm  it- 
self, by  the  time  it  reaches  the  Alleghanies,  may  ex- 
tend one  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  miles,  and  per- 
haps in  certain  magnetic  states  of  the  surface,  and 
occasionally,  may  cover  the  entire  portion  of  the  con- 
tinent, from  north  to  south.  Such,  probably,  was 
very  nearly  the  extension  of  the  storm  investigated 
by  Professor  Loomis.  In  the  West  Indies,  however, 
at  the  commencement,  they  vary  from  twenty  to  one 
hundred  miles,  or  possibly  more,  in  width. 


THE    WEATHER.  139 

First,  they  are  preceded  by  a  hot,  sultry  and  op- 
pressive atmosphere — as  are  electric  storms  every  where — 
a  peculiar  electric  state  of  the  earth  and  adjacent 
air. 

Second,  the  black  clouds  and  lightning  which  in- 
dicate the  approaching  hurricane  are  seen  to  the 
S.,  S.  E.,  and  E.  S.  E.,  according  to  the  season  of  the 
year,  as  we  see  them  at  the  westward.  During  the 
rainy  season,  and  when  the  storm,  as  is  usual  at  that 
period,  is  small,  and  the  S.  E.  trade  blows  more 
eastwardly,  the  wind  at  the  Windward  Islands,  pos- 
sibly, may  set  in  at  the  north,  and  back  round  by  the 
east  as  it  progresses.  So  Colonel  Keid  thinks  it 
sometimes  does,  at  Barbadoes.  But  when  the  belt 
of  rains  is  south,  and  the  hurricane  comes  from  the 
south-east,  and  is  larger  and  more  violent  in  its 
action,  and  the  north-east  winds  prevail,  the  first 
effect  is  an  increase  of  these  trades.  Soon,  however, 
the  wind  hauls  to  the  north  and  north-west,  in  op- 
position to  its  course,  bearing  the  same  relation  to  it 
that  our  east  and  north-east  winds  bear  to  storms  in 
the  United  States ;  and  the  wind  hauls  around  dur- 
ing the  passage  of  the  storm  to  the  west,  south-west, 
and  south-east,  and  at  the  latter  point  it  clears  off. 
Mr.  Edwards  in  his  History  of  Jamaica  says — and  as 
a  resident,  his  authority  should  be  decisive  as  to  this 
Island — "  that  all  hurricanes  begin  from  the  north,  veer 
back  to  the  W.  K  W.,  W.,  'and  S.  S.  W.,  and  when 
they  get  around  to  the  S.  E.  the  foul  weather  breaks 
up."  Doubtless  the  same  is  true  of  the  class  of 
northers  of  which  we  are  speaking  on  the  Gulf  of 


140 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


Mexico.  Bat  with  this  class  the  barometer  does  not  rise 
during  the  gale,  and  in  proportion  to  its  length  and 
violence.  With  the  other  class  of  N.  W.  winds — the 
northers  of  winter — it  does.. 

The  following  description  of  two  winter  northers, 
copied  from  Colonel  Eeid's  valuable  work,  will  illus- 
trate what  has  been  said.  Precisely  such  changes  from 
jS.  E.  rains  to  N.  W.  winds,  with  blue  sky  and  detached 
dark  clouds — -fair-weather  mN.  W.  scud — occur  every 
autumn  in  October  and  November,  and  the  falling  of 
the  thermometer  and  rising  of  the  barometer,  after 
rain,  and  a  change  of  the  wind,  are  perfectly  char- 
acteristic. 


1843. 

Wind. 

| 

Weather. 

Bar. 

1 

E* 

Jan.  30. 

A.M.  4. 

s.  s.  w. 

2 

b.  c. 

29.90 

77 

Off  Tampico. 

Noon. 

South. 

5 

b.  c.  r. 

29.86 

76 

(  Lat.  23°  41'  N.,  Long.  94°  50' 

P.M.  8. 

South. 

6 

b.  c.  r. 

29.84 

76 

jw. 

Jan.  31. 

A.M.  4. 

S.  Easterly. 

3 

b.  c. 

29.90 

74 

(  Between  6  and  10  A.M.,  wind 
/  was  variable. 

Noon. 

P.M.  8. 

N-  by  W. 
N.  N.  W. 

9 
9 

c.  q.  w. 

c. 

29.96 
30.09 

76 
73 

Norther  commenced  at  10  A.M. 
Lat.  22°  36'  N.,  Long.  95°  48'  W. 

Feb.  1. 

* 

A.M.  4. 

N.  N.  W.   " 

7 

c.  e. 

30.29 

f>3 

Lat.  22°  9'  N.,  Long.  94°  50'  W. 

Noon. 

Westerly. 

6,c. 

30.30 

67 

P.M.  8. 

Calm. 

o|c. 

30.26 

07 

Feb.  14. 

A.M.  4. 

S.  E. 

3 

b.  c.  r. 

29.66 

73 

At  Sacraficios. 

Noon. 

s.w. 

4 

b.  c. 

29.62 

Norther  comc'd  at  5.30  P.M. 

P.M    8. 

N.W.byN. 

10 

c.  q.  u. 

29.72 

65 

Feb.  15. 

A.M.  4. 

N.W.byN. 

10 

c.  q.  u. 

30.10 

61 

(  Gale  moderated  and  again 
I  freshened  about  8  A.M 

Noon. 

N  W.byN. 

10 

c.  g.  q. 

30.19 

61 

P.M.  8. 

N.  W. 

4 

c.  g. 

30.20 

65 

Feb.  16. 

A.M.  4. 

N.  W. 

3 

q- 

30.18 

62 

P.M.  8. 

N.  N.  W. 

2 

e.g. 

30.21 

66 

b.  indicates  blue  sky — c.  detached  clouds — r.  rain — v.  visibility  of  objects — q. 
squalls— w.  wet  dew— u.  ugly  threatening  appearance— g.  gloomy  weather. 


THE    WEATHEK.  141 

The  exact  counterpart  ot  the  first  norther  may  be 
observed  with  us  every  fall.  On  the  30th  January, 
with  a  rising  thermometer  and  falling  barometer,  there 
was  rain  at  midday.  The  night  following  was  moist 
—the  next  day,  about  ten  A.M.,  the  wind  came  out  N. 
W.,  with  squalls  and  gloomy  weather,  a  falling  ther- 
mometer, and  rising  barometer. 

The  norther  of  Feb.  14th  differed  from  the  other 
only  in  regard  to  the  time  of  the  day  when  it  com- 
menced ;  the  order  of  events  was  the  same.  The  rain 
fell  in  the  night — it  cleared  off  early  in  the  day,  and 
the  norther  followed  in  the  afternoon.  This  also  is 
frequently  the  case  with  us,  as  every  one  may  observe. 

This  brief  notice  of  the  surface  winds  of  oar  climate 
would  be  incomplete  without  a  description  of  those 
of  the  thunder-gust  and  tornado. 

The  former  is  exceedingly  simple.  The  showers, 
which  are  accompanied  with  much  wind,  form  sud- 
denly in  hot  weather,  and  have  a  considerable  ad- 
vance condensation  (frequently  with  obvious  lateral 
internal  action),  extending  eastwardly  from  the  line 
of  smooth  cloud  from  which  the  rain  is  falling,  or 
rather  where  the  falling  rain  obscures  the  inequalities 
of  the  cloud.  The  gust  is  never  felt  until  the  advanc- 
ing condensation  has  passed  over  us,  when  it  takes  the 
place  of  the  gentle  easterly  breeze  which  previously 
set  toward  the  shower.  The  gust  ceases  as  soon  as  the 
cloud  has  passed.  It  is  obviously  the  result  of  the  in- 
ducing and  attracting  influence  of  the  cloud  upon 
the  atmosphere  near  the  surface  of  the  earth  as  it 
passes  over  it.  Let  the  reader  watch  attentively  this 


142  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

advance  condensation,  from  its  eastern  edge  to  the 
line  of  smooth  cloud  and  falling  rain,  and  he  will 
understand  at  a  glance  this  internal  action  of  gust- 
clouds.  The  whole  phenomena  are  simple  and  in- 
telligible. A  cloud  approaching  from  a  westerly 
point,  dark  and  irregular  from  its  eastern  edge  to 
the  line  of  falling  rain,  where  it  appears  smooth  and 
of  a  light  color ;  wind  from  the  east  blowing  gentl j 
toward  it,  till  the  condensation  is  over  us ;  then  the 
gust  following  the  cloud;  then  the  rain,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  the  cloud,  and  wind,  and  rain  have  passed  on 
to  the  east,  and  "  sunshine"  returns. 

The  tornado,  .as  it  is  termed  when  it  occurs  upon 
land,  "  spout,"  if  on  the  water,  is  sometimes  of  a  dif- 
ferent character,  and  as  it  undoubtedly  had  great  in- 
fluence in  inducing  the  gyrating  theory  of  Mr.  Eed- 
field,  and  the  aspiratory  theory  of  Mr.  Espy,  and  has 
been  cited  by  both  in  support  of  their  respective  theo.r 
ries,  it  deserves  a  more  particular  notice.  There  are 
several  marked  peculiarities  attending  it  which  de- 
termine its  character. 

1st.  It  occurs  during  a  peculiarly  sultry  and  electric 
state  of  the  trade  and  surface  atmosphere,  and  at  a 
time  when  thunder  showers  are  prevailing  in  and 
around  the  locality,  and  at  every  period  of  the  year 
when  such  a  state  of  the  atmosphere  exists.  One 
recently  occurred  in  Brandon,  Ohio,  in  midwinter. 

2d.  There  is  always  a  cloud  above,  but  very  near 
the  earth,  between  which  and  the  earth  the  tornado 
forms  and  rages.  It  is  usually  described  as  a  black 
cloud,  ranging  about  1000  feet  or  less  above  the 


THE    WEATHER.  143 

earth,  often  with  a  whitish  shaped  cone  projecting 
from  it,  and  forming  a  connection  with  the  earth; 
at  intervals  rising  and  breaking  the  connection,  and 
again  descending  and  renewing  it  with  devastating 
energy.  Its  width  at  the  surface  varies  from  forty  to 
one  hundred  and  eighty  rods — the  most  usual  width 
being  from  sixty  to  ninety  rods.  Sometimes  when 
still  wider,  they  have  more  the  character  of  thunder- 
gusts,  and  are  brightly  luminous. 

3d.  Two  motions  are  usually  visible,  one  ascend- 
ing one  near  the  earth  and  in  the  middle,  and  a 
gyratory  one  around  the  other.  The  latter  is  rarely 
felt,  or  its  effects  observed,  near  the  earth.  Occasion- 
ally, and  at  intervals,  objects  are  thrown  obliquely 
backward  by  it. 

4th.  It  is  composed,  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  of 
two  lateral  currents,  a  northerly  and  southerly  one, 
varying  in  direction,  but  normally  at  right  angles 
in  most  cases,  although  not  always,  with  its  course 
of  progression,  extending  from  the  extreme  limits  of 
its  track  to  the  axis ;  which  currents  are  most  dis- 
tinctly denned  toward  the  center,  and  upward. 
These  currents  prostrate  trees,  or  elevate  and  re- 
move every  thing  in  their  way  which  is  detached 
and  movable.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  cur- 
rent in  advance  of  these  lateral  ones  tending  toward 
the  tornado,  save  in  rare  and  excepted  cases,  and  then 
owing  to  the  make  of  the  ground  or  the  irregular 
action  of  the  currents ;  nor  any  following,  except  that 
made  by  the  curving  of  the  lateral  currents  toward 
the  center  of  the  spout  as  it  moves  on,  and  perhaps 


144  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

a  tendency  of  the  air  to  follow  and  supply  the  place 
of  that  which  has  been  carried  upward  and  forward, 
like  that  of  water  following  the  stern  of  a  vessel. 
The  south  current  is  always  the  strongest,  and  often 
a  little  in  advance  of  the  other,  and  covers  the  great- 
est area.  The  proportion  of  the  two  currents  to  each 
other  is  much  the  same  that  the  S.  E.  trades  bear  to 
the  N.  B.  This  excess  in  volume  and  strength  of 
the  southerly  current  will  explain  the  irregularities 
in  most  cases,  and  the  fact  that  objects  are  so  often 
taken  up  and  carried  from  the  south  to  the  north  side, 
and  so  rarely  from  the  north  and  carried  south  of 
the  axis.  These  irregularities  are  such  as  attend  all 
violent  forces,  and  something  can  be  found  which 
will  favor  almost  any  theory;  but  the  two  lateral 
currents  appear  always  to  be  the  principal  actors,  ex- 
cept, perhaps,  when  it  widens  out  and  assumes  more 
the  character  of  a  straightforward  gust.  See  a  col- 
lection by  Professor  Loomis,  American  Journal  of 
Science,  vol.  xliii.  p.  278. 

The  following  diagram  is  a  section  of  the  New 
Haven  tornado,  from  Professor  Olmstead's  map  ac- 
companying his  article  in  the  "  American  Journal  of 
Science  and  Art,"  vol.  37.  p.  340. 

The  manner  in  which  the  main  currents  flow  is 
shown  by  their  early  and  unresisted  effect  in  a  corn- 
field, as  represented  by  the  dotted  lines.  The  direc- 
tion in  which  the  fragments  of  buildings  were  carried 
by  the  greater  power  of  the  southerly  currents  is 
shown  also.  And  so  is  this  irregular  action,  where 
a  part  of  the  southerly  current  broke  through  the 


THE    WEATHER. 

Fig.  16. 


145 


northerly  one,  and  prostrated  two  or  three  trees  back- 
ward on  the  north  side  of  the  axis. 

5th.  This  cloud,  and  its  spout,  move  generally  with 
the  course  of  the  counter-trade  in  the  locality — i.  e., 
from  some  point  between  S.  W.  and  W.,  to  the  east- 
ward, but  occasionally  a  little  south  of  east,  deflected 
by  the  magnetic  wave  beneath  the  belt  of  showers, 

6th.  Several  exceedingly  instructive  particulars 
have  been  observed  and  recorded. 

a.  No  wind  is  felt  outside  of  the  track,  as  those  assert 
who  have  stood  very  near  it,  and  its  effects  show. 

b.  The  track  is  often  as  distinctly  marked,  where  it 
passed  through  a  wood,  as  if  the  grubbers  had  been 
there  with  their  axes  to  open  a  path  for  a  rail-road. 
The  branches  of  the  trees,  projecting  within  its  limits, 


146  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OP 

are  found  twisted  and  broken  off,  or  stripped  of  their 
leaves,  while  not  a  leaf  is  disturbed  at  the  distance  of 
a  foot  or  two  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  tree,  and 
outside  of  the  track. 

c.  As  the  spout  passes  over  water,  the  latter  seems 
to  boil  up  and  rise  to  meet  it,  and  flow  up  its  trunk  in 
a  continued  stream. 

d.  As  it  passes  over  the  land,  and  over  buildings, 
fences,    and  other  movable  things,  they  appear  to 
shoot  up,  instantaneously,  as  it  were,  into  the  air,  and 
into  fragments.      If  buildings  are  not  destroyed  or 
removed,  the  doors  may  be  burst  open  on  the  leeward 
side,  and  gable  ends  snatched  out,  and  roofs  taken  off 
on  the  same  side,  while  that  portion  of  the  building 
which  is  to  the  windward  remains  unaffected. 

e.  Articles  of  clothing,  and  other  light  articles, 
have  been  carried  out  of  buildings  through  open 
doors,  or  chimneys,  or  holes  made  in  the  roofs,  and 
to  a  great  distance,  without  any  opening  being  made 
for  the  air  to  blow  in. 

f.  If  there  be  a  discharge   of  electricity  up  the 
spout  from  the  earth,  like  that  of  lightning,  the  in- 
tense action  ceases  for  a  time  or  entirely. 

g.  Vegetation  in  the  track  is  often  scorched  arid 
killed,  and  so  of  the  leaves  on  one  side  of  a  tree, 
which  is  within  the  track,  while  those  on  the  other 
side,  and  without  the  track  remain  unaffected.  (Espy's 
Philosophy  of  Storms,  359,  cited  from  Peltier.) 

h.  The  active  agent  whatever  it  is,  has  been  known 
to  seize  hold  of  a  chain  attached  to  a  plow  and  draw 
the  plow  about,  turning  the  stiff  sod  for  a  considerable 


THE    WEATHER.  147 

distance.  (See  Loomis  on  the  tornado  at  Stow,  Ohio, 
American  Journal  of  Science,  vol.  xxxiii.  p.  368.) 

i.  In  passing  over  ponds,  the  spout  has  taken  up 
all  the  water  and  fish,  and  scattered  them  in  every 
direction,  and  to  a  great  distance. 

y.  The  barometer  falls  very  little  during  the  pass- 
age of  the  spout.  (See  the  Natchez  hurricane  of 
1827,  Espy  page  837.)  Not  more  than  it  frequently 
does  during  gentle  showers. 

k.  Persons  have  been  taken  up,  carried  some  dis- 
tance, and  if  not  projected  against  some  object  in  the 
way,  or  some  object  against  them,  have  usually  been 
set  down  gently  and  uninjured. 

1.  Buildings  which  stood  upon  posts,  with  a  free 
passage  for  the  air  under  them,  although  in  the  path 
of  the  tornado,  escaped  undisturbed.  (Olmstead's 
account  of  the  New  Haven  tornado,  American  Jour- 
nal of  Science,  vol.  xxxvii.  p.  340.) 

m.  A  chisel  taken  from  a  chest  of  tools,  and  stuck 
fast  in  the  wall  of  the  house.  (Ibid.) 

n.  Fowls  have  had  all  their  feathers  stripped  from 
them  in  an  instant  and  run  about  naked  but  un- 
injured.* 

o.  Articles  of  furniture,  etc.,  have  been  found  torn 
in  pieces  by  antagonistic  forces. 

p.  Frames  taken  from  looking-glasses  without 
breaking  the  glass.  Nails  drawn  from  the  roofs  of 
houses  without  disturbing  the  tiles. 

*  All  attempts  to  produce  this  result  by  the  sudden  exhaustion  of 
air  about  the  chickens  in  receivers,  or  shooting  them  from  cannons, 
have  failed,  and  no  patent  for  a  chicken-picker  has  been  applied  for. 


148  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OP 

q.  Hinges  taken  from  doors — mud  taken  from  the 
led  of  a  stream  (the  water  being  first  removed),  and 
let  down  on  a  house  covering  -it  completely — a 
farmer  taken  up  from  his  wagon  and  carried  thirty 
rods,  his  horses  carried  an  equal  distance  in  another 
direction,  the  harness  stripped  from  them,  and  the 
wagon  carried  off  also,  one  wheel  not  found  at  all. 
(American  Journal  of  Science,  vol.  xxxvii.  p.  93.) 

Pieces  of  timber,  boards,  and  clapboard,  driven 
into  the  side  of  a  hill,  as  no  force  of  powder  could  drive 
them,  etc.,  etc. 

Now  to  my  mind,  these  circumstances  indicate 
clearly,  that  it  is  not  wind,  i.  e.,  mere  currents  of 
air,  which  produces  the  effect,  but  that  a  continu- 
ous current  or  stream  of  electricity  from  the  earth  to 
the  cloud  exists,  and  carries  with  it  from  near  the 
earth,  such  articles  as  are  movable :  That  this  stream 
collects  from  the  northerly  and  southerly  side  upon  the 
magnetic  meridian,  in  two  currents  with  polarity, 
which  meet  in  their  passage  up  at  the  center ;  curv- 
ing toward  the  center  in  the  posterior  part  as  the 
spout  moves  on,  when  acting  in  a  normal  manner, 
and  making  the  "  law  of  curvature1'1  observed :  That 
no  conceivable  movement  of  the  air  alone  in  such 
limited  spaces  could  produce  such  effects ;  or  if  so, 
that  no  agent  but  electricity  could  so  move  the  air  : 
That  the  air  in  a  building  could  not  shoot  the  roof 
upward,  and  into  fragments ;  much  less  could  the 
air  in  a  cellar  by  any  conceivable  force,  be  made  to 
elevate  or  shoot  up  the  entire  house,  and  its  inmates, 
and  contents — effects  so  totally  unlike  what  takes 


THE    WEATHER,  149 

place  in  gales,  hurricanes,  and  typhoons:  That  elas- 
tic free  air  never  did  nor  could  take  hold  of  the 
plow  chain,  and  plow  up  the  ground ;  or  scorch  and 
kill  the  vegetation ;  or  twist  the  limbs  from  one  side 
of  a  tree,  while  the  most  delicate  leaves  on  the  other, 
and  within  two  or  three  feet,  remained  unaffected 
and  undisturbed ;  or  pick  the  chickens :  That  even 
if  the  expansion  of  the  air  could  produce  these 
effects — if  a  sudden  vacuum  were  produced — nothing 
but  currents  of  electricity  could  produce  the  sudden  vacu- 
um, by  removing  the  air  above. 

It  is  well  settled  that  atmospheric  electricity  can 
and  does  flow  in  currents  with  light,  by  experiments 
in  relation  to  the  brush  discharge,  etc.  That  it  may 
do  so  without  light  or  disruptive  discharge,  and  in  a 
stream,  or  as  it  is  termed,  by  convection,  with  the 
force  and  effect  seen  in  the  tornado,  is  perfectly  con- 
sistent with  what  we  know  of  it — and  it  is,  I  think 
clearly  evinced  that  such  is  the  character  of  the 
phenomena,  by  the  fact  that  a  sudden  powerful  dis- 
*•  ^ruptive  discharge,  with  light,  up  the  spout,  produces  an 
instantaneous  partial  cr  total  suspension  of  its  action ; 
to  be  renewed  as  the  cloud  passes  over  another  and 
more  highly  charged  portion  of  the  earth's  surface. 
Peltier  gives  instances  where  the  spout  has  been 
entirely  and  instantaneously  destroyed  by  such  a 
sudden  and  powerful  discharge  of  electricity ;  mark- 
ing the  spot  where  it  was  so  destroyed  by  a  large  hole 
in  th.e  earth,  from  which  the  discharge  issued.  And 
in  fact  these  tornados  are  often  steadily  luminous, 


150  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

and  so  much  so,  when  they  occur  in  the  night,  as  to 
enable  persons  to  read  without  difficulty. 

The  lateral  inward  and  upward  currents,  are  ac- 
companied, after  they  meet  and  unite,  or  seem  to 
unite,  by  gyratory  or  circular  ones.  How  are  they 
produced  ?  This  question  can  only  be  answered  by 
analogy.  No  permanent  impressions  are  left  by  the 
circular  currents,  except  to  a  limited  extent,  and  in 
occasional  instances ;  and  observation  of  them  has 
been,  and  must  necessarily  be  limited  and  uncertain. 
I  have  witnessed  one  or  two  on  a  moderate  scale ; 
but  owing  to  the  suddenness  of  their  passage,  and 
the  confusion  of  the  objects  taken  up,  it  was  difficult 
to  determine  what  the  circular  currents  were.  When 
the  southerly  current  is  much  the  strongest,  it  appears 
sometimes  to  cross  the  axis,  and  curve  round  the 
northerly  one.  Perhaps  this  may  be  all  the  curv- 
ing that  really  takes  place,  except  at  the  posterior 
part  of  the  axis,  for  evidence  of  a  curving  on  the 
south  of  the  axis  is  rarely,  if  ever  seen. 

Assuming,  however,  that  the  main  currents  unite 
and  form  one  from  the  earth  to  the  cloud,  in- 
duced circular  currents  would  be  in  perfect  keep- 
ing with  the  known  laws  of  electricity.  Such 
currents,  and  with  magnetic  properties,  are  always 
induced  by  powerful  currents  of  voltaic  electricity 
passing  through  wires.  And  doubtless  in  all  cases 
powerful  currents  of  electricity  induce  attendant  cir- 
cular currents.  This  may  account  for  the  external 
gyration  of  the  spout. 

Or  it  may  be  that  the  two  lateral  currents  of  air 


THE    WEATHER. 


151 


which  attend  the  currents  of  electricity,  do  not  unite ; 
having  opposite  polarity,  but  pass  by  and  around  each 
other,  in  connection  with  the  circular  magnetic  cur- 
rents. Future  observation  and  perhaps  experimental 
research  will  determine  this.  But  it  may  not  be 
accomplished  by  the  present  generation ;  for  the  be- 
lief that  tornados  are  mere  whirlwinds,  produced  by 
the  action  of  the  sun  in  heating  the  land,  is  adhered 
to,  notwithstanding  they  cross  the  intense  magnetic 
area  of  Ohio  in  mid- winter,  and  seems  to  be  ineradi- 
cable. 

The  proportions  of  different  winds  vary  in  different 
localities.  For  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  curious, 
I  copy  a  table  from  an  able  compilation  by  Professor 
Coffin,  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  show- 
ing the  proportion  of  the  winds  at  New  Haven  (the 
station  nearest  to  me).  It  will  be  noticed  that  dur- 
ing the  year  the  N.  "W.  winds  blow  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  days  ;  the  S.  W.  next ;  the  K  E.  and  S.  E. 
less  than  either,  and  about  equal.  It  may  be  ob- 
served that  the  two  latter  bear  about  the  same  pro- 
portion to  the  whole,  that  our  number  of  cloudy 
and  stormy  days,  averaging  about  ninety,  bear  to  the 
whole  number  of  days  in  the  year. 


Course. 

1804. 

1811. 

1812. 

1813. 

TouL 

N. 

143 

105 

90 

Ill 

449 

N.  E. 

99 

207 

138 

138 

582 

E. 

33 

18 

22 

23 

96 

S.  E. 

131 

108 

135 

110 

484 

S. 

58 

69 

113 

80 

320 

s.w. 

224 

255 

153 

261 

893 

W. 

81 

69 

102 

57 

309 

N.W. 

329 

264 

345 

315 

1253 

152  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

This  work  of  Mr.  Coffin  has  been  brought  to  my 
notice  since  the  foregoing  pages  were  written.  The 
facts  embodied  in  it  will  be  found  to  comport  with 
what  I  have  observed  and  stated.  In  relation  to 
the  proportionate  number  of  days  in  the  year  during 
which  the  wind  blows  from  the  different  points  of  the 
compass  at  the  several  stations  it  is  very  full  and 
able. 

But  it  has  cardinal  defects.  It  does  not  show  the 
main  currents  of  the  atmosphere.  It  treats  the  sur- 
face-winds, which  are  incidental,  as  principals.  The 
direction  of  the  main  currents  is  indeed  shown  fre- 
quently by  the  mean  course  of  the  surface  winds, 
but  not  uniformly  or  intelligibly.  Nor  does  it  dis- 
tinguish between  the  fair  weather  and  storm  winds ; 
nor  always  between  the  trade  winds  during  their 
northern  transit,  and  the  variable  winds  north  of  the 
trade-wind  region.  Hence,  the  deductions  derived 
from  it  disclose  no  general  system,  and  sustain  no 
theory,  although  many  very  important  facts  appear. 
Some  of  these,  Professor  Coffin  found  it  difficult  to 
reconcile  with  received  theories,  or  satisfactorily  ex- 
plain. For  instance,  he  found  the  prevailing  winds 
of  the  United  States,  in  Louisiana  and  Texas,  S.  and 
S.  E. ;  in  western  Arkansas,  and  Missouri,  southerly, 
and  in  Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  S.  W.,  forming  a  curve, 
and  evidently  connected  together. 

Thus,  alluding  to  the  winds  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  between  the  parallels  of  36°  and  60°,  he  says : 

"  On  the  American  continent,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  there  appears 
to  be  more  diversity  in  the  mean  direction  of  the  wind,  yet  here  it  is 


THE    WEATHER.  153 

westerly  at  sixteen  stations  out  of  twenty,  from  which  observations 
have  been  obtained.  The  most  peculiar  feature  in  this  region,  is  the 
line  of  southerly  winds  on  the  western  borders  of  Arkansas  and  Mis- 
souri. It  seems  to  form  a  connecting  link  between  the  winds  of  this 
zone  and  the  south-easterly  ones  that  we  find  south  of  it ;  and,  in  some 
degree,  to  favor  an  idea  that  has  been  advanced,  that  there  is  a  vast 
eddy,  extending  from  the  western  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  to  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  Atlantic ;  that  the  easterly  trade- winds  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  when  they  strike  the  American  continent,  veer  north- 
wardly, and  then  N.  E.,  and  thus  recross  the  Atlantic,  and  foDow 
down  the  coast  of  Portugal  and  Africa,  till  they  complete  the  circuit." 

This  mean  prevalence  of  the  curving  winds  indi- 
cates the  course  of  the  western  portion  of  the  con- 
centrated counter-trade,  of  which  we  have  so  fully 
spoken,  and  to  which  that  portion  owes  its  rains  and 
fertility.  Doubtless  the  curve  would  have  been 
traced  somewhat  further  west,  if  observations  had 
been  obtained  from  more  westerly  stations. 

The  idea  of  an  eddy,  to  which  Professor  Coffin  al- 
ludes, is  of  course  unsound ;  that  of  a  counter-trade, 
most  fully  confirmed  ;  the  curve  corresponding  with 
that  of  the  regular  rains  and  fertility  as  they  are 
known  to  exist. 

Professor  Coffin  is  a  believer  in  the  generally-re- 
ceived theory  of  rarefaction,  as  the  cause  of  all  winds. 
His  work  is  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
and  the  theory  is,  so  far  forth,  nationalized.  But 
he  found  it  very  difficult  to  reconcile  all  the  facts  he 
obtained,  with  the  theory,  and,  possessing  a  truth- 
loving  mind,  he  frankly  admits  it.  Alluding  to  the 
prevalence  of  N.  E.  winds  off  the  coast  of  Africa  in 
the  summer  months,  as  shown  by  certain  numbered 
wind-roses,  he  says : 

7* 


154  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

"Nos.  81,  83,  86,  and  91,  have  caused  me  much  perplexity.  The 
arrows  for  the  warmer  months  evidently  indicate  a  point  of  rare- 
faction situated  to  the  south  or  south-west,  and  yet  all  the  observations 
from  which  they  were  computed  were  taken  within  a  few  hundred 
miles  of  the  African  coast  and  desert  of  Sahara ;  a  region,  the  an- 
nual range  of  whose  temperature  must  be  exceedingly  great.  The 
only  way  in  which  I  can  account  for  a  fact  so  astonishing,  is,  by 
supposing  the  deflecting  forces  at  these  numbers  to  be  secondary 
to  the  influence  which  we  see  so  strongly  marked  in  Nos.  88,  89, 
and  90.  Let  us,  then,  first  devote  our  attention  to  these." 

(We  have  not  space  for  the  map  of  Professor  Coffin, 
nor  is  it  necessary  to  insert  it.  The  numbers  81, 
83,  86,  and  91,  refer  to  respective  portions  of  the 
Atlantic,  west  of  Africa,  North  of  the  Cape  de  Yer- 
des,  of  5°  of  latitude  each,  where  the  N.  E.  trades 
are  drawing  off  from  the  coast.  The  Nos.  88,  89, 
and  90  refer  to  like  portions  below  the  Cape  de 
Yerde,  where  the  S.  W.  monsoons  are  found  under 
the  rainy  belt ;  and  the  explanation  of  the  distin- 
guished author  is  an  attempt  to  account  for  the 
blowing  of  the  trades  from  Sahara,  by  supposing 
them  connected  with  the  monsoons  further  south, 
which  seem  to  blow  toward  it.) 

"  The  intense  heat  of  the  Great  Desert  rarefies  the  air  exceedingly 
from  June  to  October,  inclusive,  and  hence  the  arrows  of  unparalleled 
length  (Plate  XII.),"  (showing  the  moonson  winds  below  the  Cape  de 
Verdes,)  "pointing  toward  it  during  those  months,  the  longest  being 
longer  than  that  which  represents  the  most  uniform  of  the  trade-winds, 
in  the  ratio  of  104  to  89.  The  influence  of  this  rarefaction  is  sufficient  to 
curve  the  powerful  current  of  the  trade- winds  in  the  manner  exhibit- 
ed on  Plate  VII.  Nos.  89  and  90,  and  to  produce  the  not  less  remark- 
able change  in  No.  88,  holding  the  current  back  and  retarding  it,  so 
that  its  progressive  motion  in  the  three  months  of  July,  August,  and 
September  united,  hardly  exceeds  that  during  any  one  of  the  colder 
months  of  the  year.  But  while  this  is  so,  the  trades  on  the  western 
side  of  the  Atlantic  are  pursuing  nearly  their  regular  track,  being  but 


THE    WEATHER.  155 

slightly  affected  by  these  influences.  As  a  consequence,  the  latter 
must  leave,  as  it  were,  a  partial  vacuum  behind  them,  which  is  filled 
by  air  flowing  in  from  the  north-east  and  south-east.  This  will  ac- 
count for  the  seeming  anomaly  of  having  a  somewhat  strong  deflect- 
ing force  directed  toward  mid-ocean,  in  the  hottest  part  of  the  year, 
as  in  the  numbers  above  referred  to.  And  yet  it  may  be  very  natu- 
rally asked,  Why  does  not  the  air  from  these  parts  supply  the  Great 
Desert  directly,  instead  of  taking  a  circuitous  route  to  supply  the  region- 
thai  supplies  it  ?  A  question  which,  I  confess,  it  seems  difficult  to 
answer." 

(The  italicization  in  the  foregoing  extract  is  mine). 

Here  the  worthy  professor  finds  a  fact  inconsistent 
with  the  theory  of  rarefaction — viz. :  that  the  winds 
blow  off  shore,  and  toward  mid-ocean,  opposite 
Sahara,  and  he  is  "  perplexed  and  astonished."  The 
theory,  however,  must  be  maintained,  and  one  of 
those  modifying  hypotheses  which  have  made  meteor- 
ology such  a  complicated  piece  of  patch-work,  must 
be  invented ;  some  "  deflecting  forces"  found.  There 
is  the  Great  Desert,  bordering  upon  the  ocean,  north 
of  the  Cape  de  Yerde  Islands,  for  a  distance  of  six 
hundred  miles,  widening  as  it  extends  inland,  whose 
temperature,  as  he  says,  "  must  be  exceedingly  great;" 
and  doubtless  is  so,  and  yet  the  air,  instead  of  blow- 
ing in  upon  it  in  a  hurricane,  is  actually  drawing  off 
from  it,  and  blowing  towards  the  S.  "W.,  where  the 
water  and  air  do  not  rise  above  84°.  Well  may  he 
be  "  perplexed  and  astonished." 

Turning  south,  however,  to  the  distance  of  five 
hundred  miles  or  more,  he  finds  the  S.  "W.  monsoon 
winds,  which  in  those  months  blow  under  the  belt 
of  rains,  toward  the  land,  in  the  direction  of,  but  at 
a  great  distance  from,  Sahara.  It  is  an  easy  matter 


156  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

to  suppose  that  they  reach  the  Great  Desert  and  sup- 
ply its  vortex  of  rarefaction,  inasmuch  as  they  blow 
in  a  direction  toward  it,  and  distance  is  no  impedi- 
ment to  supposition. 

Then  it  is  necessary  to  suppose  that  the  S.  E.  and 
N.  E.  trades,  at  the  south-west,  draw  so  strongly  to 
the  westward  as  to  create  a  partial  vacuum  to  the 
S.  W.  of  Sahara,  which  is  filled  by  the  winds  which 
draw  off  shore,  and  then  we  have  the  supply  brought 
from  the  distance  of  five  hundred  miles  or  more,  by 
an  ascending  vortex,  which  creates  a  vacuum,  and 
the  air  near  the  vortex  taken  away  in  another  direc- 
tion by  a  partial  vacuum  ;  and  so  an  ascending  vortex, 
which  creates  a  vacuum  is  supplied  from  a  distance, 
and  a  partial  vacuum  at  a  distance  is  supplied  by  the 
air  near  the  perfect  vacuum.  Such  an  idea  of  a  supply 
by  a  circuitous  route,  and  secondary  influence,  is  not 
very  philosophical,  to  say  the  least,  and  Professor 
Coffin  feels  it ;  and  to  the  question,  Why  is  it  so  ? 
which,  he  says,  may  very  naturally  be  asked,  he  con- 
fesses there  is  no  answer.  And  there  would  be  none, 
even  if  his  suppositions  were  based  upon  facts.  But 
other  questions  might  be  asked  equally  difficult  to 
be  answered,  viz. : 

1st.  Is  there  any  rarefaction  which  can  draw  the 
trades  to  the  west,  and  in  that  particular  locality,  in 
opposition  to  the  supposed  vortex  of  Sahara,  by 
creating  a  partial  vacuum,  ? 

2d.  Are  they  in  fact  so  drawn  ? 

3d.  Do  the  S.  W.  winds,  south  of  the  Cape  .de 
Verdes,  and  under  the  rainy  belt,  which  in  the  summer 


THE    WEATHER. 


157 


months  extend  up  to  these  islands,  reach  the  desert 
at  all? 

These  are  pertinent  questions,  and  every  one  of  them 
must  be  answered  in  the  negative.  The  hypothesis  is 
without  foundation,  and  Professor's  Coffin's  perplexity 
and  astonishment  must  remain,  until  he  abandons  the 
theory  of  rarefaction  entirely.  The  winds  which  so 
perplex  him  are  nothing  but  the  regular  K  E.  trades, 
made  to  originate  on  the  coast  and  continent  of 
Africa,  in  summer,  by  the  northern  transit  of  the 
whole  machinery.  They  not  only  draw  off  from  the 
desert  coast,  but  they  blow  over  the  desert  itself  on  to  the 
ocean,  and  into  the  rainy  belt  upon  the  land,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  and  the  supposed  vortex  of  rare- 
faction does  not  exist. 

That  the  monsoons  do  not  reach  the  desert  is  de- 
monstrated by  the  tables  of  Professor  Coffin,  and  to  set 
it  at  rest  we  will  make  the  necessary  extracts.  Com- 
mencing with  the  region  from  the  equator  to  5°  N.,  and 
from  10°  to  55°  W.  longitude,  we  have  the  observed 
winds  in  proportion,  as  follows,  for  July  and  August 
— the  south-east  trades  prevailing,  inasmuch  as  the 
belt  of  rains  is  at  this  season  situated  further  north. 

LATITUDE  0°  TO  5°,  LONGITUDE  PROM  GREEirmcn  10°  TO  55°. 


Courie. 

Julr. 

August. 

Course. 

July 

AuguiU 

North. 

0 

0 

S.  S.  W. 

54 

111 

N.  N  E. 

8 

2 

S.  W. 

1 

29 

N.  E. 

6 

2 

W.  S.  W. 

6 

19 

E.  N.  E. 

27 

16 

West. 

2 

9 

East. 

31 

20 

W.  N.  W. 

1 

6 

E.  S.  E 

120 

96 

N.  W. 

1 

0 

S.  E. 

216 

276 

N.  N.  W.     !        0 

2 

S.  S.  E. 

218 

443 

Calm.                8 

4 

South. 

6d 

279 

Total         :     768 

1,314 

158 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


Here,  it  is  evident  that  the  S.  E.  trades  are  the 
prevailing  winds,  but  their  course  is  variable. 

Ascending  to  the  region  between  5°  and  10°  north 
latitude,  and  10°  to  55°  west  longitude,  the  northern 
part  of  which  at  this  season  is  covered  by  the  rainy 
belt ;  we  find  the  monsoon,  the  S.,  S.  S.  W.,  and  S. 
W.  winds,  the  prevailing  ones  in  August,  although 
the  winds  are  variable,  as  usual  under  the  rainy  belt. 


Courie. 

July. 

August. 

Course. 

July. 

August. 

North. 

19 

6 

S.  S.  W. 

188 

368 

N.  N  E. 

26 

11 

S.  W. 

63 

94 

N  E. 

104 

32 

W.  S.  W. 

73 

93 

E.  N.  E. 

30 

16 

West. 

33 

48 

East. 

45 

29 

W.  N.  W. 

30 

18 

E.S.  E. 

36 

40 

N.  W. 

21 

9 

S.  E. 

93 

53 

N.  N.  W 

17 

13 

S.  S.  E. 

225 

307 

Calm. 

109 

74 

South. 

239 

514 

Total 

1,351 

1,725 

Ascending  to  the  region  of  10°  to  15°  north  lati- 
tude, and  15°  to  45°  west  longitude,  we  find  the  winds 
exceedingly  variable,  and  the  monsoons  diminished 
remarkably.  If  Professor  Coffin's  theory  was  cor- 
rect, they  should  increase  as  they  approach  the 
desert;  but  they  in  fact,  diminish,  and  the  N.  E 
trades  are  found  at  the  north  portion. 


Course. 

July. 

August, 

Course. 

July. 

August 

North. 

17 

55 

S.  S.W. 

30 

71 

N.  N.E. 

64 

74 

S.  W. 

33 

63 

N.  E. 

155 

149 

W.  S.  W. 

19 

43 

E.N.  E, 

91 

71 

West. 

12 

25 

East. 

83 

60 

W.  N.  W. 

17 

21 

E.  S.  E. 

25 

26 

N.  W. 

13 

24 

S.  E. 

17 

26 

N.  N.  W. 

24 

56 

S.  S.  E. 

13 

33 

Calm. 

62 

78 

South. 

9 

44 

Total 

684 

919 

THE    WEATHER. 


159 


Ascending  to  the  region  between  15°  and  20°  north 
latitude,  and  15°  to  45°  west  longitude,  we  get  north 
of  the  belt  of  rains  and  lose  the  monsoons  entirely 
although  still  below  the  desert;  and  find  the  regular 
N".  E.  trades,  with  less  variable  winds  than  are  found 
in  almost  any  other  part  of  the  ocean. 


Course. 

July. 

Augu«. 

Course. 

July. 

Augurt. 

North. 

39 

20 

S.  S.  W. 

0 

5 

N.  N.  E. 

210 

185 

S.  W. 

0 

5 

N.  E. 

112 

87 

W.  S.  W. 

8 

3 

E.  N.  E. 

114 

104 

West. 

0 

1 

East. 

20 

36 

W.  N.  W. 

0 

4 

E.  S.  E. 

21 

17 

N.W. 

3 

4 

S.  E. 

0 

2 

N.  N.  W. 

3 

31 

S.  S.  E. 

2 

11 

Calm 

20 

8 

South. 

5 

1 

Total, 

557 

526 

Ascending  still  further  to  the  region  between  20° 
and  25°  north  latitude,  and  15°  and  45°  west  longi- 
tude, which  borders,  in  part,  on  the  S.  W.  corner  of 
the  desert,  and  we  have  not,  during  the  month  of 
August,  a  single  wind  between  S.  S.  E.  and  W.  N.  "W., 
which  blows  in  upon  the  land ;  and  only  twelve  in- 
stances out  of  three  hundred  and '  ninety-four  in  tiiis 
hottest  month  in  the  year,  and  on  the  southern  portion  of 
the  desert,  when  the  wind  blows  on  shore  from  any 
quarter.  This  is  demonstration.  The  monsoon  winds 
are  confined  to  the  rainy  belt ;  they  do  not  reach  the 
desert,  nor  does  the  desert  attract  the  winds  from  the 
ocean,  or  reverse,  hold  back,  or  disturb  the  trades. 


160 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


Course. 

July. 

| 

August.! 

Cour*e. 

July. 

August 

North. 

25 

20 

S.  S.  W. 

8 

0 

N.  N.  E. 

210 

153 

S.  W. 

2 

0 

N.E. 

129 

77 

W.  8.  W. 

13 

0 

E.  NE. 

110 

86 

"West. 

0 

0 

East. 

8 

20 

W.  N.  W. 

0 

8 

E.  S.  E. 

4 

11 

N.  W. 

2 

1 

8.  E. 

0 

8 

N.  N.  W. 

5 

8 

8.  S.  E. 

1 

7 

Calm. 

2 

5 

South. 

1 

0 

Total, 

515 

894 

Ascending  once  more,  to  the  region  between  the 
degrees  of  25  and  30,  north  latitude,  and  15  and 
45,  west  longitude,  we  find  it  bounded  east  entirely 
on  the  center  of  the  desert.  Now  here,  certainly, 
there  must  be  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  rarefaction 
theory,  if  any  where  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Yet 
here,  in  July  and  August,  we  find  the  trades  as  reg- 
ular as  any  where,  and  not  more  variable  winds 
than  are  found  in  the  trades  toward  their  northern 
limits  every  where,  and  in  August,  only  forty  out  of 
four  hundred  and  twenty-nine  winds,  blowing  direct- 
ly or  indirectly  on  shore. 


Course. 

July, 

August. 

Course. 

July. 

Auguit. 

North. 

32 

19 

8.  S.  W. 

9 

6 

N.  N.  E. 

155 

125 

8.  W. 

3 

9 

N.E. 

144 

35 

W.  S.  W. 

13 

14 

E.  N.  E. 

140 

89 

West. 

12 

3 

East. 

43 

57 

W.  N.  W. 

7 

7 

E.  8.  E. 

31 

23 

N.  W. 

11 

1 

S.  E. 

8 

T 

N.  N.  W. 

36 

c 

B.  S.  E. 

8 

12    J 

Calm. 

18 

12 

South. 

Total, 

680 

429 

It  would  seem  to  be  impossible  for  any  man  to  be- 
lieve in  the  theory  of  rarefaction,  after  an  examina- 
tion of  these  tables. 


THE    WEATHEK.  161 

Professor  Coffin  discovers  other  anomalies,  for 
which  he  finds  it  difficult  to  account.  Among  these 
are  the  northerly  tendency,  in  the  afternoon,  of  the 
winds  in  Ohio,  south  of  Lake  Erie ;  the  winds  of 
south-western  Asia,  which,  he  says,  "Are  so  irregular 
as  to  defy  all  attempts  to  reduce  them  to  system ;" 
particularizing  the  N.  "W.  at  Jerusalem,  the  westerly 
at  Bagdad,  the  JST.  E.  at  Constantinople,  the  northerly 
at  Trebizond,  etc.,  etc.  Jerusalem  has  the  Mediter- 
ranean at  the  N".  W.,  Bagdad  has  it  at  the  west,  Con- 
stantinople has  the  Black  Sea  at  the  K.  E.,  Trebizond 
N.  N.  "W.  and  N.  E.,  and  the  counter-trade,  as  it 
passes  over  them,  draws  its  storm-surface  wind  or 
sea-breeze,  from  the  quarter  where  evaporation  is 
greatest,  and  the  atmosphere  is  most  susceptible  of 
electrical  inductive  influence.  Precisely  as  it  draws 
from  the  ocean  and  the  eastward,  east  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  from  the  lake  region,  west  of  the  lakes,  and 
from  the  northward,  south  of  the  lakes,  and  from  the 
westward,  east  of  them. 

This  law  of  attraction  will  explain,  too,  the  mean 
prevalence  of  easterly  winds  north  of  the  parallel  of 
60°,  at  the  stations  named  in  his  work.  Great  Bear 
Lake,  Great  Slave  Lake,  and  Fort  Enterprise,  lie 
east  of  the  Kocky  Mountain  range  which  interposes 
between  them  and  the  Pacific,  and  have  Hudson's 
Bay  and  other  large  bodies  of  water  on  the  east  and 
north.  Hence,  easterly  winds  prevail  at  these  places. 
At  Norway  House,  on  Nelson's  River,  near  the  north 
end  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  a  large  body  of  water,  which 
stretches  off  to  the  south,  we  find  the  south  wind  the 


162  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

prevalent  one,  especially  in  December,  when  the 
northern  and  north-eastern  waters  are  frozen  up, 
and  the  N".  E.  largely  present  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year. 

At  New  Hernhut,  in  winter,  when  Davis'  Straits 
are  covered  with  floes,  the  prevailing  wind  is  east, 
drawn  from  the  warm,  open  sea  east  of  Greenland, 
where  the  Gulf  Stream  is  evaporating.  But  in  June 
and  July,  when  evaporation  is  going  on  over  Davis' 
Straits  and  Baffin's  Bay,  the  prevailing  winds  are 
west  and  south,  and  the  east  winds  fall  off. 

Other  stations  are  equally  instructive,  but  I  must 
forbear. 

In  relation,  however,  to  the  easterly  zone  of  wind,  of 
which  Professor  Coffin  speaks,  it  should  be  added  that 
the  counter- trade,  south  of  the  magnetic  pole,  in  high 
latitudes,  pursues  an  easterly  course,  is  near  the  earth, 
and  attracts  an  opposite  wind  as  it  does  on  the  east 
and  north  of  the  pole,  in  localities  where  the  surface 
atmosphere  is  not  peculiarly  susceptible  to  its  influ- 
ence, and,  therefore,  the  winds  are  mainly  opposite 
to  its  course.  Thus,  at  Melville  Island,  they  are  al- 
most all  westerly  and  north-westerly,  for  there  the 
remnant  of  the  counter-trade  is  passing  west  around 
the  magnetic  pole.  These  westerly  and  north-west- 
erly winds  are  very  light,  and  like  the  gentle  easterly 
breeze  which  sets  toward  the  cumulus  clouds  and 
summer  showers. 

Since  most  of  this  work  was  written,  I  have  pro- 
cured, and  read  with  great  pleasure,  Lieutenant 
Maury's  "  Geography  of  the  Sea."  It  is  a  work  of 


THE    WEATHER.  163 

great  interest,  and  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every 
one.  The  extent  of  ground  covered,  however,  made 
it  necessary  for  Lieutenant  Maury  to  introduce  much 
matter  not  derived  from  his  own  investigations.  In 
doing  this,  he  has  taken  received  opinions,  and  has 
thereby  introduced  much  heresy.  The  view  he 
adopts  in  relation  to  the  monsoons,  although  the 
popular  one  with  philosophers,  is  of  that  character. 
He'  says  (page  222) : 

"Monsoons  are,  for  the  most  part,  formed  of  trade-winds.  When 
a  trade-wind  is  turned  back,  or  diverted,  by  over-heated  districts, 
from  its  regular  course  at  stated  seasons  of  the  year,  it  is  regarded 
as  a  monsoon.  Thus,  the  African  monsoons  of  the  Atlantic,  the 
monsoons  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  the  Central  American  mon- 
soons of  the  Pacific,  are,  for  the  most  part,  formed  of  the  north-east 
trade-winds,  which  are  turned  back  to  restore  the  equilibrium  which 
the  over-heated  plains  of  Africa,  Utah,  Texas,  and  New  Mexico  have 
disturbed.  When  the  monsoons  prevail  for  five  months  at  a  time — 
for  it  takes  about  a  month  for  them  to  change  and  become  settled — 
then  bofli  they  and  the  trade-winds,  of  which  they  are  formed,  are 
called  monsoons." 

Again  (§476-7): 

"  The  agents  which  produce  monsoons  reside  on  the  land.  These 
winds  are  caused  by  the  rarefaction  of  the  air  over  large  districts 
of  country  situated  on  the  polar  edge,  or  near  the  polar  edge,  of  the 
trade-winds.  Thus,  the  monsoons  of  the  Indian  Ocean  are  caused 
by  the  intense  heat  which  the  rays  of  a  cloudless  sun  produce,  during 
•the  summer  tune,  upon  the  Desert  of  Gobi  and  the  burning  plains  of 
Central  Asia.  When  the  sun  is  north  of  the  equator,  the  force  of  his 
rays,  beating  down  upon  these  wide  and  thirsty  plains,  is  such  as  to 
cause  the  vast  superincumbent  body  of  air  to  expand  and  ascend. 
There  is,  consequently,  a  rush  of  air,  especially  from  toward  the  equa- 
tor, to  restore  the  equilibrium ;  and,  in  this  case,  the  force  which 
tends  to  draw  the  north-east  trade-winds  back  becomes  greater  than 
the  force  which  is  acting  to  propel  them  forward.  Consequently, 
they  obey  the  stronger  power,  turn  back,  and  become  the  famous 


164  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

south-west  monsoons  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  which  blow  from  May  to 
September  inclusive. 

"  Of  course,  the  vast  plains  of  Asia  are  not  brought  up  to  monsoon 
heat  per  saltum,  or  in  a  day.  They  require  time  both  to  be  heated 
up  to  this  point  and  to  be  cooled  down  again.  Hence,  there  is  a  con- 
flict for  a  few  weeks  about  the  change  of  the  monsoon,  when  neither 
the  trade  wind  nor  the  monsoon  force  has  fairly  lost  or  gained  the  as- 
cendency. This  debatable  period  amounts  to  about  a  month  at  each 
change.  So  that  the  monsoons  of  the  Indian  Ocean  prevail  really  for 
about  five  months  each  way,  viz. :  from  May  to  September,  from  the 
south-west,  in  obedience  to  the  influence  of  the  over-heated  plains, 
and  from  November  to  March  inclusive  from  the  north-east,  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  trade-wind  force." 

What  the  "trade- wind  force"  is,  Lieutenant  Maury 
tells  us  in  another  paragraph,  viz. :  "  Calorific  ac- 
ion  of  the  sun  and  diurnal  rotation  of  the  earth" — 
the  received  calorific  theory.  I  have  already  shown, 
I  think,  conclusively,  that  there  is  no  expansion  and 
ascent  in  the  supposed  region  of  calms,  which  induces, 
or  can  induce,  the  trades ;  and  that,  in  point  of  fact, 
the  air  on  the  land  is  cooler  under  the  belt  of  rains. 
But  as  Lieutenant  Maury,  whose  reputation  is  nation- 
al, adopts  the  theory,  I  shall  be  pardoned  for  copy- 
ing the  following  table,  showing  the  difference  of 
temperature  at  two  cities  of  India,  before,  after,  and 
while  the  belt  of  inter-tropical  rains  is  over  them. 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  temperature  is  actually  less 
when  the  belt  is  there,  viz.,  in  July  and  August, 
than  in  April  and  May.  This  should  be  conclusive 
upon  that  point. 


THE    WEATHER. 


165 


Anjarakandj. 

Calcutta. 

Monthi, 

Rain. 

Temp. 

Raiu. 

Temp. 

M.  M. 

M.  M. 

January, 
February, 

2,26 
2,26 

26°,5 

27°,7 

0,0 
67,68 

18°,4 
21°,5 

March, 

6,77 

28°,4 

24,82 

25°,6 

April, 
May, 

29,33 
175,96 

29°,8 
28°,6 

130,84 
16,24 

28°,5 
29°,7 

June, 

794,05 

26°,6 

575,24 

29°,3 

July, 

807.59 

25°,8 

338,38 

28,°1 

August, 

572,98 

26°,0 

311,31 

28°,3 

September, 

311,31 

26°,4 

254,91 

28°,  0 

October, 

157,91 

26°,8 

42,86 

27°,2 

November, 

65,42 

26°,9 

20,30 

23°,0 

December, 

29,33 

26°,5 

0,0 

19°,2 

Year, 

2955,14 

27°,2 

1928,74 

26°,4 

Anjarakandy  is  on  the  Malabar  coast,  between  12° 
and  13°  north  latitude.  Calcutta  in  an  angle  of  the 
Bay  of  Bengal,  at  22°  30'  north  latitude.  The 
former  is  in  and  near  the  focus  of  the  monsoons,  and 
has  a  temperature  in  July  (when  18  inches  of  rain 
fall),  about  as  low  as  in  December. 

In  the  foregoing  table  from  Kaemptz,  the  rain  is 
in  millimetres,  about  twenty-five  of  which  make  an 
inch,  and  the  temperature  is  centigrade,  which  may 
be  raised  to  Fahrenheit  by  adding  four  fifths  of  the 
quantity  and  also  32° — thus,  if  the  height  of  the 
centigrade  thermometer  be  25°,  add  to  this  four  fifths 
of  25°,  which  is  20°,  and  also  32°,  the  result  is  77°. 
Twenty -five  centigrade  is  therefore  equal  to  seventy- 
seven  Fahrenheit. 

Lieutenant  Maury  is  not,  and  should  not  be  a 
theorist.  He  occupies  the  position,  in  some  sort,  of 
a  national  investigator,  and,  of  course,  of  national  in- 
structor. Opinions  which  emanate  from  him,  or 


166  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

which  are  endorsed  by  him,  should  be  accurate. 
Sooner  or  later  that  which  he  has  adopted  in  relation 
to  the  monsoons,  and  some  others,  must  be  aban- 
doned. In  addition  to  what  has  already  been  said, 
I  wish  to  call  his,  and  the  reader's  attention,  to 
several  other  facts  and  considerations  in  relation  to 
the  monsoons,  and  particularly  those  of  India. 

1st.  The  deserts  of  Gobi  and  Bucharia,  which 
constitute  the  "  burning  plains"  of  Central  Asia,  north- 
east of  the  Indian  Ocean,  lie  between  38°  and  45°  of 
north  latitude,  and  under  the  zone  of  extra-tropical 
rains.  They  are  not  wholly  rainless.  They  partake 
of  that  saline  character  which  affects  so  much  of 
Asia  and  the  western  part  of  this  continent.  South 
of  them,  running  nearly  east  and  west,  are  the  lofty 
ranges  of  the  Himmalaya  and  Kuenlun  Mountains, 
and  the  table  lands  of  Thibet.  To  their  saline  char- 
acter, in  part,  but  mainly  to  the  interposition  of 
these  mountain  ranges,  depriving  the  counter-trade 
of  moisture,  they  owe  their  comparative  sterility.  If 
bountifully  supplied  with  rains,  this  salt  would  doubtless 
ere  this  have  been  washed  to  the  ocean,  as  it  has  been  from 
other  countries,  once  as  salt  as  they.  But  they  have 
some  rain,  and  more  or  less  vegetation,  and  are  not 
intensely  hot.  They  lie  too  far  north,  and  are  too 
elevated.  Their  temperature  is  not  materially  differ- 
ent from  that  of  the  western,  and  comparatively  des- 
ert portions  of  our  own  country,  and  they  are  utterly 
incapable  of  creating  a  monsoon  at  the  Indian 
Ocean,  and  especially  from  the  long  line  of  Malabar 
coast,  where  the  south-west  monsoons  are  found  in 


THE    WEATHER.  167 

most  strength.  The  sterile  portions  of  Utah,  New 
Mexico,  and  Texas  are  alike  incapable  of  such  effect 
upon  the  atmosphere  of  Central  America  and  Mexico. 
These  monsoons  commence  in  May,  and  prevail 
until  October,  and  the  temperature  of  the  air  where 
they  blow  ranges  with  considerable  regularity  be- 
tween 76°  at  night,  and  84°  at  mid-day,  on  the  Mala- 
bar coast,  and  a  trifle  lower  in  Central  America. 

At  Fort  Fillmore,  El  Paso,  New  Mexico,  in  .latitude  32°03,   the   mean 
temperature  for 

May  is           68° 

June  "           78°,  5' 

July  "           80°,  T 

August  83°,  8' 

September  "           77°,  9' 

And  for  the  whole  period,  77°,  I1 

At  StantaF6,  New  Mexico,  the  mean  for 

May  is  66°,  9' 

June  "  72°,  5' 

July  "  75°,  3' 

Augugst  "  72°,  9' 

September  "  62°,  3' 

And  for  the  whole  period,  69°,  3' 

Mean  of  the  two  united,  73°,  2* 

The  mean  of  Western  Texas  is  about  2°  higher 
than  at  Fort  Fillmore,  and  of  Utah  not  materially 
different ;  and  the  mean  of  Central  Asia  between  38° 
and  45°  does  not  materially  vary  from  them. 

Now,  it  is  perfectly  evident  that  during  May  and 
September  the  temperature  of  Central  Asia  is  far 
below  that  of  the  Indian  Ocean  and  India,  and  never 
materially  exceeds  it.  Central  Asia  is  hot,  "burn- 
ing," if  you  please,  compared  with  more  elevated, 
fertile,  or  better  watered  territory  in  the  same  latitude, 
and  so  it  has  been  characterized ;  but  not  so,  com- 
pared with  the  Indian  Ocean,  or  India,  where  the  sun 
is  vertical.  During  the  greater  part  of  the  time, 


168  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

therefore,  that  the  monsoons  are  in  full  blast,  Utah, 
Texas,  and  New  Mexico,  and  Gobi,  and  the  burning 
plains  of  Asia,  are  from  5°  to  10°  colder  than  the 
temperature  of  the  place  where  the  monsoons  are 
blowing.  Would  not  such  a  fact  be  perfectly  con- 
clusive in  any  other  science  except  theory-swathed 
meteorology  ? 

2d.  The  theory  assumes  that  the  heated  air  has  an 
ascensive  force,  which  causes  it  to  rise  and  create  a 
vacuum,  and  this  vacuum,  by  its  suction,  draws  in 
the  adjoining  air,  which  immediately  ascends.  The 
adjoining  air,  drawn  away  from  its  locality,  leaves  a 
vacuum,  and  that  is  filled  by  another  rush  from  the 
S.  W.,  and  so  on,  till  the  Indian  Ocean  is  reached, 
and  the  monsoons  are  accounted  for. 

Now,  look  at  the  difficulties : 

The  highest  temperature  that  can  be  assumed  for 
the  air  over  Gobi,  at  any  time,  without  disregarding 
facts  and  analogy,  is  100°.  "What  is  the  ascensive 
power  of  an  area  of  atmosphere  of  100°  ?  For  this 
we  have  no  problem  or  formula,  although  problems 
and  formulas  abound  in  the  science.  Professor 
Espy  relied  on  heated  air  only  to  give  the  storm  a 
start  His  main  reliance  was  on  the  latent  heat  sup- 
posed to  be  given  out  during  condensation,  for  his 
ascensive  storm  power.  But  over  these  "burning 
plains"  there  is,  according  to  the  theory,  no  storm 
or  cloud,  or  condensation  on  which  that  supposed 
reliance  for  expansion  can  be  placed.  What,  then, 
is  the  ascension  force  of  air  at  100°  ?  We  ought  to 
know,  for  we  sometimes  have  it  as  high,  or  within  two 


THE    WEATHER.  169 

or  three  degrees  as  high,  in  all  the  eastern  and  middle 
States. 

The  monsoons  blow  at  from  twenty  to  twenty-five 
miles  an  hour,  and  sometimes  more.  Is  that  the  as- 
censive  force  of  air  at  100°  ?  At  25  miles  an  hour 
it  would  be  2,200  feet;  at  20  miles,  1,760  feet;  and 
at  10  miles,  880  feet  per  minute. 

Does  any  man  believe  that  either  current  exists  ? 
Why,  then,  do  we  not  have  our  hats  taken  off,  or 
light  objects  carried  up,  or  have  a  monsoon,  or,  at 
least,  have  the  clouds  running  up,  when  we  have 
such  elevated  temperatures.  Nothing  of  the  kind  oc- 
curs ivith  us.  Our  hottest  days  are  comparatively 
still  days ;  and  I  have  seen  the  cumulus  sailing 
gently  to  the  east,  horizontally,  when  the  air  was  at 
98°.  Why  should  we  be  exempt  ?  Is  not  our  air 
the  same  and  our  heat  the  same  ? 

Again,  suppose  we  grant  that  the  ascensive  force 
is  equal  to  20  or  even  10  miles  an  hour,  will  not  the 
adjoining  air  hold  back  somewhat  to  avoid  leaving 
behind  an  entire  vacuum  ?  or,  will  it  all  voluntarily 
rush  in,  and  leave  a  new  complete  vacuum  ?  and,  if 
so,  why  the  preference  of  vacuums  by  the  air,  and 
when,  wliere,  and  why,  should  the  successive  vacuums 
stop  f  Nay,  would  not  gravity  fill  the  second  vacuum 
from  alove,  rather  than  from  the  south-west  side? 
and  will  not  the  air  incline  to  rush  in,  to  some  or  all 
these  successive  vacuums,  from  some  other  side  than 
south-west  ?  or,  have  these  deserts  the  power  of  se- 
lecting the  quarter  from  which  their  vacuum  shall 
be  filled,  and  of  delegating  it  to  succeeding  vacuums  ? 


170  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

"Would  it  not  incline  to  rush  in  from  the  east  and 
west  where  there  are  no  elevations,  rather  than  from 
the  S.  W.  and  over  the  Kuenlun  Mountains,  the  in- 
tervening ridges  and  valleys  of  Thibet,  the  lofty 
Himmalayas,  the  extent  of  India,  and  the  Ghaut 
Mountains,  from  three  to  four  thousand  feet  high,  on 
its  eastern  coast  ?  Would  it  not,  at  least,  leak  in  a 
little,  and  lessen  the  force  with  which  the  vacuums 
would  draw  from  the  far-off  Indian  Ocean,  so  that 
the  monsoon  could  not  blow  with  equal  force  ?  or,  if 
Gobi  and  its  fellow  deserts  must  and  can  draw  from 
an  ocean,  why  not  from  the  head  of  the  Arabian  Sea, 
or  Bay  of  Bengal,  or  the  China  Sea,  which  are  nearer, 
or  from  the  Japan  Sea,  which  is  still  nearer,  or  the 
Yellow  Sea,  which  is  close  by  ?  Why  draw  only  from 
under  the  central  belt  of  rains  ?  Nay,  what  shall  be 
done  with  Professor  Dove  ?  In  a  recent  article,  re- 
published  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science  and 
Art,  for  January,  1855,  he  says  :  "  A  greatly  dimin- 
ished atmospheric  pressure  taking  place  in  summer 
over  the  whole  continent  of  Asia-  must  produce  an  in- 
flux from  all  surrounding  parts ;  and  thus  we  have 
west  winds  in  Europe,  north  winds  in  the  Icy  Sea, 
east  winds  on  the  east  coast  of  Asia,  and  south  winds 
in  India.  The  monsoon  itself  becomes,  as  we  see,  in  this 
point  of  view,  only  a  secondary  phenomena."  This 
looks  very  like  antagonism.  Who  shall  we  believe  ? 
Again,  suppose  you  get  one  atmosphere  from  the 
whole  area,  raised  up  by  the  supposed  ascensive  force, 
and  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five,  twenty,  or  even  ten 
miles  an  hour,  and  a  new  volume  drawn  in  from  the 


THE    WEATHER.  171 

south-west,  and  over  the  mountains :  will  it  not  take  a 
little  time  for  that  to  heat  up  ?  Does  it  neat  so  fast  as 
to  keep  up  the  ascensive  force  without  intermission,  at 
twenty-five,  or  twenty,  or  ten  miles  the  hour  ?  What 
says  Mr.  Ericsson  to  this  ?  Can  he  not  arrange  with 
a  moderate  lens,  to  move  his  engine  with  the  rays  of 
the  summer  sun  ?  Nay,  Lieutenant  Maury  says  they 
can  not  heat  up  "  per  saltum,  or  in  a  day."  But  ac- 
cording to  a  reasonable  calculation,  they  must  heat 
up  the  air  from  80°,  or  less,  to  10Q°,  at  the  rate  of 
2,000  feet  per  minute.  Heating  2,000  feet  in  depth, 
in  the  proportion  of  20°  per  minute,  night  and  day, 
for  five  months,  is  "per  saltum"  in  a  minute,  and  1,440 
"  saltums"  per  day  ! 

And  further  still,  the  Indian  Ocean,  from  which 
the  monsoons  are  drawn  to  Gobi  and  Central  Asia  to 
the  N.  E.,  is  during  those  months  covered  by  the 
belt  of  calms  and  rains,  as  heretofore  stated  ;  and  the 
S.  E.  trades  blowing  into  it  are  attributed  to  the  suc- 
tion created  by  the  ascent  of  heated  air  there.  So, 
then,  the  monsoons  are  blowing  away  from  under  the 
rainy  belt,  from  500  to  1000  miles,  to  Gobi  and  the 
burning  plains  of  Asia,  while  the  ascensive  force 
of  that  belt  is  such  as  to  draw  the  S.  E.  trades  toward 
the  very  spot,  a  distance  of  1,200  or  1,500  miles,  at 
20  miles  an  hour !  What  must  the  ascensive  force 
over  Cobi,  etc.,  be,  if,  as  a  "  stronger  power,"  it  can 
overcome  an  ascensive  force  over  the  Indian  Ocean 
sufficient  to  draw  the  S.  E.  trades  1,500  miles,  at  20 
miles  an  hour;  and,  in  addition  to  the  force  neces- 
sary to  resist  this  central  suction,  not  only  stop  or 


172  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

hold  back  the  1ST.  E.  trade,  but  reverse  it  and  draw 
it  back,  at  20  miles  an  hour,  as  a  monsoon  ?  Must 
it  not  be,  at  least,  double  that  of  the  belt  of  calms, 
or  the  "great  region  of  expansion,"  as  Professor 
Dove  calls  it  ? 

Now,  I  am  irresistibly  tempted  to  ask  whether  a 
meteorological  theory  can  be  too  absurd  for  credence, 
and  whether  it  would  not  be  as  well  to  endow  the 
deserts  with  ribs  and  lungs,  and  a  proboscis  long 
enough  to  reach  the  Indian  Ocean,,  and  the  necessary 
power  of  inspiration  and  expiration  ?  Such  a  theory 
would  avoid  all  difficulties,  conflict  with  no  more 
analogies,  and,  in  my  judgment,  be  as  much  entitled 
to  credit  as  the  one  to  which  meteorologists  adhere. 

3d.  North  of  the  Malabar  coast,  in  the  north- 
west of  India,  lies  an  extensive  desert.  "West  of  that 
is  Beloochistan,  with  its  rainless  deserts.  Further 
west  are  the  rainless  deserts  of  Arabia,  and  these 
three,  including  the  Persian  deserts  further  north, 
cover  cts  much  surface  as  the  deserts  of  Gobi  and 
Bucharia — have  the  sun  vertical  in  part,  and  nearly 
so  over  the  entire  surface — are  more  intensely  hot,  and 
lie  within  one  third  of  the  distance  which  intervenes  be- 
tween that  desert  and  the  Indian  Ocean  off  the  Mala- 
bar coast,  with  an  open  sea  and  no  mountains  between. 
Now,  look  at  it.  The  north-west  desert  of  India, 
and  the  rainless  deserts  of  Beloochistan  and  Arabia 
reverse  no  trade  and  have  no  monsoon,  although  the 
Arabian  Sea  heads  right  up  among  them.  They  do 
not  attract  one  from  the  Indian  Ocean  off  the  Malabar 
coast,  although  not  more  than  one  third  of  the  dis- 


THE    WEATHEK.  173 

tance  off,  and  without  such,  mountains  and  table 
lands  intervening  as  separate  that  coast  from  Gobi. 
It  is  said  by  Lieutenant  Maury  that  the  monsoons, 
u  obey  the  stronger  force"  But  which  is  the  stronger 
force  ?  Gobi,  not  wholly  rainless,  lying  north  of  35°, 
under  the  zone  of  extra-tropical  rains,  with  India  and 
the  Ghauts,  the  Himmalaya  Mountains,  th&  table 
lands  of  Thibet,  and  the  Kuenlun  Mountains  be- 
tween? or  the  deserts  of  India,  Beloochistan,  and 
Arabia,  wholly  rainless,  and  intensely  hot,  near  by,  and 
in  open  view.  There  can  be  but  one  answer  to  this 
question.  Nothing  in  the  way  of  desert  barrenness, 
or  elevated  temperature,  unless  it  be  those  of  Sahara, 
can  exceed  the  deserts  about  the  head  of  the  Arabian 
Sea  and  Persian  Gulf.  Certainly  those  of  Gobi  can 
not  compare  with  them ;  yet  the  trades  blow  steadily 
over  them,  although  more  northerly  there,  as  every 
where,  near  their  northern  limits,  especially  on  land. 
Says  Hopkins,  in  his  atmospheric  changes  : 


"  If  any  one  part  of  the  broad  expanse  of  the  continent  of  Asia 
could  be  heated  so  as  to  draw  air  from  the  Arabian  Sea  and  the 
Indian  Ocean  during  the  summer,  it  would  be  that  part  which  lies 
between  Hindoostan  and  the  Lake  of  Aral,  including  the  region  be- 
tween the  Valley  of  the  Oxus  and  Persia,  and  the  land  of  this  part, 
unlike  Hindoostan,  is  not  screened  from  the  sun  by  thick  vapors. 
But  what  says  Burnes  respecting  the  winds  of  this  part  ?  Why,  that 
about  the  latter  end  of  June,  though  the  thermometer  was  at  103°  in 
the  day,  '  In  this  country  a  steady  wind  generally  blows  from  the 
north.'  And  on  the  23d  of  August,  after  having  passed  the  Oxus — 
'The  heat  of  the  sand  rose  to  150°,  and  that  of  £he  atmosphere  ex- 
ceeded 100°,  but  the  wind  blew  steadily,  nor  do  I  believe  that  it 
would  be  possible  to  traverse  this  tract  in  summer  if  it  ceased  to 
blow.  The  steady  manner  in  which  it  comes  from  one  direction  is 
remarkable  in  this  inland  country.'  Again — (  The  air  itself  was  not 


174  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

disturbed  but  by  the  usual  north  wind  that  blows  steadily  in  this 
desert.'    And  he  has  many  other  similar  passages." 


Here  there  is  a  vast  tract  of  coimtry  south  of  35° 
which  has  a  temperature  often  of  103°,  and  does  not 
reverse  the  trade  and  create  a  monsoon.  How  utterly 
unphilosophical,  then,  to  attribute  the  monsoons  to 
Gobi  because  they  "  obey  the  stronger  force !"  or  to 
attribute  them  to  it  at  all. 

4th.  The  monsoons  can  notloe  traced  from  the  Mala- 
bar coast  to  Gobi.  They  do  not  exist  on  the  south-west 
of  Gobi  and  near  it,  where  they  should  in  greatest 
force,  and  there  is  no  connection,  in  fact,  shown  be- 
tween them.  They  do  not  often  extend  more  than 
twenty -five  miles  inland,  or  to  the  east  of  the 
Ghauts.  There  are  no  corresponding  intervening 
monsoons  crossing  India  to  the  mountains — none 
over  the  mountains  and  table  lands — none  under  the 
northern  lee  of  the  mountains — nor,  in  short,  on  the 
whole  track,  nor  any  S.  W.  winds  except  such  as 
naturally  belong  to  the  action  of  the  curving  counter- 
trade. 

Finally,  the  investigations  of  Commodore  Wilkes 
on  Mauna  Loa,  a  mountain  upon  Hawaii,  more  than 
13,000  feet  high,  and  the  observations  of  Professor 
Wise"  and  other  aeronauts  are  sufficient  to  put  this 
whole  matter  of  heated  lands  and  ascent  of  the  at- 
mosphere as  the  cause  of  winds,  at  rest.  Commo- 
dore Wilkes  was  encamped  for  about  twenty  days  on 
Pendulum  Peak,  in  December  and  January  1840. 
Although  not  up  to  the  elevation  of  the  counter- 


THE  -WEATHER.  175 

trade  in  that  latitude,  he  was  above  the  local  clouds 
which  form  over  the  island  during  the  day,  where 
the  sea  breezes  blow  in  with  as  great  strength  as  any 
where.  Indeed,  he  was  on  the  top  of  the  "lofty  coni- 
cal mountain"  to  which  Caleb  "Williams  alludes  in 
the  letter  to  Professor  Espy  I  have  quoted,  and  above 
the  spot  where  Professor  Espy  assumed  that  the 
clouds  were  rising  with  such  force  as  to  induce  the 
strong  sea  breezes  of  that  island.  During  this  time 
there  were  two  snow-storms  on  Mauna  Loa,  and  they 
had  the  wind  from  the  S.  "W.  during  the  storm,  as 
might  be  expected,  looking  at  the  situation  of  the 
mountain  on  the  western  side  of  the  island.  These 
storms  moved  to  the  N.  W.,  and  were  observed  at  the 
other  islands  in  that  direction  as  rain. 

The  local  clouds  lay  over  the  island  every  day,  as 
they  do  over  active  volcanic  islands  which  are  very 
elevated,  although  it  was  the  dry  season.  Nothing 
like  an  ascent  of  the  clouds  or  of  the  currents  of  air  from 
the  ocean  was  observed.  On  the  contrary,  the  clouds 
formed  before  the  sea  breezes  set  in,  and  the  latter 
blew  from  the  different  sides  of  the  island  in  under 
the  clouds,  and  outward  again,  probably  on  the  op- 
posite side.  The  whole  interior  of  the  island  is  ele- 
vated, and  its  temperature  low ;  and  there  was  no 
elevation  of  temperature  on  the  high  portions  of  the  isl- 
and over  which  the  clouds  formed,  and  toward  which 
the  winds  blew,  which  could  create  an  upward  current. 

"  During  our  stay  on  the  summit,  we  took  much  pleasure  and  in- 
terest in  watching  the  various  movements  of  the  clouds  ;  this  day  in 
particular,  they  attracted  our  attention ;  the  whole  island  beneath  us 


176  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

was  covered  with  a  dense  white  mass,  in  the  center  of  which  was  the 
cloud  of  the  volcano  rising  like  an  immense  dome.  All  was  motion- 
less until  the  hour  arrived  when  the  sea-breeze  set  in  from  the  differ- 
ent sides  of  the  island ;  a  motion  was  then  seen  in  the  clouds,  at  the 
opposite  extremities,  both  of  which  seemed  apparently  moving  to- 
ward the  same  center,  in  undulations,  until  they  became  quite  com- 
pact, and  so  contracted  in  space  as  to  enable  us  to  see  a  well  defined 
horizon ;  at  the  same  time  there  was  a  wind  from  the  mountain,  at 
right  angles,  that  was  affecting  the  mass,  and  drawing  it  asunder  in 
the  opposite  direction.  The  play  of  these  masses  was  at  times  in  circu- 
lar orbits,  as  they  became  influenced  alternately  by  the  different  forces, 
until  the  whole  was  passing  to  and  from  the  center  in  every  direction, 
assuming  every  variety  of  form,  shape  and  motion. 

"  On  other  days  clouds  would  approach  us  from  the  S.  "W. 
when  we  ha.d  a  strong  N.  E.  trade-wind  blowing,  coming  up  with 
cumulus  front,  reaching  the  height  of  about  eight  thousand  feet, 
spreading  horizontally,  and  then  dissipating.  At  times  they  would 
be  seen  lying  over  the  island  in  large  horizontal  sheets  as  white  as 
the  purest  snow,  with  a  sky  above  of  the  deepest  azure  blue  that 
fancy  can  depict.  I  saw  nothing  in  it  approaching  to  blackness  at 
anytime."  (Exploring  Expedition,  vol.  iv.  p.  155). 

Here,  in  the  last  paragraph,  we  have  the  whole 
truth  disclosed.  The  N.  E.  trade  was  blowing  on 
Manna  Loa,  13,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  the  sea- 
breeze  blew  in  on  the  leeward  side,  its  moisture  con- 
densing over  the  volcanic  island,  but  without  rising 
up  the  mountain,  or  through  the  surface-trade,  or  above 
8,000  feet. 

So,  too,  the  celebrated  aeronaut,  Mr.  "Wise,  in  the 
course  of  more  than  a  hundred  ascensions,  some  dur- 
ing high  wind,  and  others  during  rain  storms,  never 
met  with  an  ascending  current,  except  in  a  single 
instance,  in  the  body  of  a  hail-cloud,  and  then  there 
were  descending  currents  also,  the  usual  intestine 
motion  of  hail-cloud  with  its  opposite  polarities. 

I  copy  a  description  of  his  passage  through  the 


THE    Yf  EAT  HER.  177 

clouds  of  a  rain-storm,  and  his  floating  a  long  period 
above  them ;  and  there  was  no  ascending  current 
which  disturbed  their  horizontal  repose  or  progres- 
sion. The  double  layer  is  not  uncommon — conden- 
sation taking  place  at  the  connection  of  the  upper 
and  lower  portions  of  the  trades,  with  the  surround- 
ing atmosphere  ;  or  in  the  trade,  and  by  induction  in 
the  surface  atmosphere  at  the  same  time.  Such  in- 
stances are  frequently  visible,  and  if  his  ascensions 
had  been  undertaken  at  other  times  in  stormy  weather 
he  would  have  seen  more  of  them. 

"  Before  I  passed  the  limits  of  the  borough,  a  parachute,  contain- 
ing an  animal,  was  dropped,  which  descended  fast  and  steady,  and, 
just  as  it  reached  the  earth,  my  serial  ship  entered  a  dense  black 
body  of  clouds.  Ten  minutes  were  consumed  in  penetrating  this  dis- 
mal ocean  of  rainy  vapor,  occasionally  meeting  with  great  chasms, 
ravines,  and  defiles,  of  different  shades  of  light  and  darkness.  When 
I  emerged  from  this  ocean  of  clouds,  a  new  and  wonderfully  magni- 
ficent scene  greeted  my  eyes.  A  faint  sunshine  shed  its  warmth  and 
luster  over  the  surface  of  this  vast  cloud  sea.  The  balloon  rose  more 
rapidly  after  it  got  above  it.  Viewing  it  from  an  elevation  above  the 
surface,  I  discovered  it  to  present  the  same  shape  of  the  earth  be- 
neath, developing  mountains  and  valleys,  corresponding  to  those  on 
the  earth's  surface.  The  profile  of  the  cloud-surface  was  more  de- 
pressed than  that  on  the  earth,  and,  in  the  distance  of  the  cloud- 
valley  a  magnificent  sight  presented  itself.  Pyramids  and  castles, 
rocks  and  reefs,  icebergs  and  ships,  towers  and  domes— -every  thing 
belonging  to  the  grand  and  magnificent  could  be  seen  in  this  distant 
harbor;  the  half-obscured  sun  shedding  his  mellow  light  upon  it, 
gave  it  a  rich  and  dazzling  luster.  They  were  really  "  castles  in  the- 
air,"  formed  of  the  clouds.  Casting  my  eyes  upward,  I  was  as- 
tonished in  beholding  another  cloud-stratum,  far  above  the  lower  one ; 
it  was  what  is  commonly  termed  a  "  mackerel  sky,"  the  sun  faintly 
shining  through  it.  The  balloon  seemed  to  be  stationary ;  the  clouds 
above  and  below  appeared  to  be  quiescent ;  the  air  castles,  in  the  dis- 
tance, stood  to  their  places ;  silence  reigned  supreme ;  it  was  solemn- 
ly sublime.  Solitary  and  alone  in  a  mansion  of  the  skies,  my  very 
soul  swelled  with  emotion ;  I  had  no  companion  to  pour  out  my 

8* 


178     PHILOSOPHY    OF    THE    WEATHER. 

feelings  to.  Great  G-od,  what  a  scene  of  grandeur !  Such  were  my 
thoughts ;  a  reverence  for  the  works  of  nature ,  an  admiration  inde- 
scribable. The  solemn  grandeur — the  very  stillness  that  surrounded 
me— seemed  to  make  a  sound  of  praise. 

"  This  was  a  scene  such  that  I  never  beheld  one  before  or  after 
exactly  like  it.  Two  perfect  layers  of  clouds,  one  not  a  mile  above 
the  earth ;  the  other,  about  a  mile  higher ;  and,  between  the  two,  a 
clear  atmosphere,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  balloon  stood  quietly  in 
space.  It  was,  indeed,  a  strange  sight — a  meteorological  fact,  which 
we  cannot  possibly  see  or  make  ourselves  acquainted  with,  without 
soaring  above  the  surface  of  the  earth."  (History  and  Practice  of 
Aeronautics,  p.  209). 

This  is  graphic.  Perhaps  in  relation  to  the  con- 
formity of  the  upper  surface  of  the  inferior  layer  of 
clouds,  to  the  irregularities  of  the  earth's  surface,  he 
was  misled  during  the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment. 
He  is  certainly  mistaken  as  to  the  possibility  of  ob- 
serving these  double  layers  from  the  earth ;  I  have 
seen  them  in  hundreds  of  instances.  But  in  relation 
to  the  quiescence  of  the  clouds  for  an  hour,  and  the 
entire  absence  of  ascending  currents,  he  could  not  be 
mistaken. 

And  now,  in  the  absence  of  all  direct  proof  to  sus- 
tain the  hypothesis,  that  the  heating  of  the  land  pro- 
duces ascending  currents,  and  thereby  the  winds,  and 
especially  the  monsoons,  and  in  view  of  all  the  ad- 
verse evidence,  I  put  it  to  Lieutenant  Maury,  and 
every  sincere  searcher  after  meteorological  truth, 
whether  the  theory  should  not  be  abandoned. 


CHAPTER  VII.- 

THE  counter-trade  of  the  northern  hemisphere 
ranges  at  different  heights  in  different  latitudes,  in 
the  same  latitude  at  different  seasons,  and  also  upon 
different  days  of  the  same  season ;  and,  like  the  line 
of  perpetual  snow,  has  its  greatest  elevation  in  the 
tropics,  descending  gradually  to  the  surface  of  the 
ocean  at  the  poles.  At  the  northern  limit  of  the 
N.  E.  trades,  it  does  not,  ordinarily,  approach  the 
earth  sufficiently  near  for  decided  reciprocal  action. 
Hence,  at  that  point,  storms  do  not  often  originate ; 
the  winds  are  lighter  and  more  variable,  and  calms 
are  more  frequent  than  at  any  point,  except  at  the 
meeting  and  elevation  of  the  trades,  or  in  the  polar 
regions.  Doubtless  this  state  of  things  is  increased 
by  the  feebler  action  of  north  polar  magnetism,  and 
the  irregular  action  of  the  longitudinal  magnetic  cur- 
rents, evinced  by  the  irregular,  and  often  feeble  ac- 
tion of  the  trades,  near  their  extreme  limits.  They 
are  not  unfrequently  wholly  wanting,  near  the  north- 
ern limit,  for  several  days  in  succession,  and  calms 
and  baffling  winds  are  found  in  their  place — another 
effect  of  the  irregular  action  of  terrestrial  magnetism, 
consequent  upon  the  ever-changing  transit  of  central 


180  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

activity  from  south  to  north,  and  from  north  to 
south.  Upon  the  islands,  however,  and  continents, 
which  have  elevated  mountain  peaks  and  ridges, 
especially  if  of  volcanic  origin  and  activity,  which 
approach  more  nearly  the  path  of  the  counter-trade, 
a  different  state  of  things  exists.  There,  showers 
and  gusts  are  frequent.  Thus,  upon  the  Sand- 
wich Island,  Kauai,  the  most  northern  one,  which 
is  within  the  region  of  the  "N.  E.  trade  during 
ten  months  of  the  year,  and  upon  its  volcanic 
peaks  and  elevated  table-lands,  and  north-east- 
erly from  them,  over  the  district  of  Waioli,  rain 
falls  in  abundance  during  the  year,  while  the  coast- 
lines upon  other  portions  of  the  island  can  not  be 
cultivated  without  irrigation.  (See  Wilkes'  Exploring 
Expedition,  vol.  iv.  pp.  61  and  71 ;  and  American 
Journal  of  Science  and  Art,  for  May,  1847). 

A  like  state  of  things,  in  degree,  may  be  found 
upon  the  Canaries,  and  the  more  elevated  of  the 
"West  India  Islands.  The  Cape  de  Yerdes  are  an  ex- 
ception, and  the  Christian  world  are  quite  often  called 
upon  for  contributions  of  provisions,  to  save  the  in- 
habitants of  these  islands  from  starvation.  They  lie 
at  the  northern  limit  of  the  equatorial  belt,  and 
for  a  period  of  two  months  only  (July  and  August), 
are  supplied  with  rain.  If,  from  any  cause,  the  belt 
does  not  move  as  far  north  as  usual  during  any 
season,  unbroken  drought  and  famine  are  sure  to 
overtake  them.  The  islands  contain  some  elevated 
peaks,  and  are  of  volcanic  origin,  but  not  of  present 
volcanic  activity,  and  the  counter-trades  as  they  issue 


THE    WEATHER.  181 

from  the  equatorial  belt  at  their  highest  elevation, 
are  too  far  above  them  for  reciprocal,  influential  ac- 
tion. If  the  islands  could  be  placed  10°  further 
north,  we  should  hear  no  more  of  drought  or  famine 
from  them,  and  their  quantity  of  rain  and  fertility 
would  be  not  only  more  permanent,  but  much  in- 
creased. Superadded  to  this,  is  the  fact,  that  at  that 
point  the  belt  of  rrins  precipitates  feebly  because  the 
S.  E.  trade  originates  upon  the  southern  part  of  the 
continent  of  Africa,  and  the  N.  E.  mainly,  upon  the 
desert  and  the  Barbary  States — and  both  are  spar- 
ingly supplied  with  moisture. 

The  same  state  of  things  is  strikingly  obvious 
upon  continents  wherever  the  mountains  are  suffi- 
ciently elevated,  even  within  the  trade-wind  region. 
Thus,  in  South  America,  the  Andean  ranges  are  of 
great  elevation,  and  spurs  and  table-lands  extend 
from  them  a  considerable  distance  to  the  eastward. 
There,  the  S.  E.  and  K  E.  trades  of  the  Atlantic 
meet  in  very  considerable  volumes,  and  not  only  is 
the  equatorial  belt  much  wider  than  upon  the  At- 
lantic and  Pacific,  but  the  counter-trades  are  met 
upon  the  elevated  peaks  and  mountain-ranges,  and 
showers  and  storms  on  their  eastern  slopes  and  sum- 
mits are  frequent  during  the  dry  season — down  even 
to  the  extra  tropical  belt.  I  have  already  said  that 
it  was  probable  that  the  great  elevation  of  the  Ancles 
diverted  and  turned  south  a  portion  of  the  N.  E. 
counter-trade  which  would  otherwise  pass  over  the 
western  coast  of  Peru. 

The  report  of  Lieutenant  Herndon,  which  has  come 


182  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

to  my  notice  since  that  was  written,  states  facts  which 
strongly  corroborate  that  opinion.  It  seems  that  the 
trades  and  counter-trades  actually  lank  up,  in  their 
passage  to  the  westward,  against  those  mountains,  and 
the  true  elevation  of  their  eastern  slopes  can  not  be 
barometrically  ascertained.  (See  report  of  the  Ex- 
ploration of  the  Amazon,  p.  261).  Lieutenant  Hern- 
don  says : 

"  I  was  surprised  to  find  the  temperature  of  boiling  water  at  Egas 
to  be  but  208°  2',  the  same  within  2'  of  a  degree  that  it  was  at  a  point 
one  day's  journey  below  Tingo  Maria,  which  village  is  several  hun- 
dred miles  above  the  last  rapids  of  the  Huallaga  river;  at  Santa 
Crux,  two  days  above  the  mouth  of  the  Huallaga,  it  was  211°  2' ;  at 
Nauta,  three  hundred  and  five  miles  below  this,  it  was  211°  3' ;  at 
Pebas,  one  hundred  and  seventy  miles  below  Nauta,  211°  1'.  I  was 
so  much  surprised  at  these  results  that  I 'had  put  the  apparatus  away, 
thinking  that  its  indications  were  valueless ;  but  I  was  still  more 
surprised,  upon  making  the  experiment  at  Egas,  to  find  that  the 
temperature  of  the  boiling  water  had  fallen  3°  below  what  it  was  at 
Santa  Cruz,  thus  giving  to  Egas  an  altitude  of  fifteen  hundred  feet 
above  that  village,  which  is  situated  more  than  a  thousand  miles  up 
stream  of  it.  I  continued  my  observations  from  Egas  downward, 
and  found  a  regular  increase  in  the  temperature  of  the  boiling  water 
until  our  arrival  at  Para,  where  it  was  211°  6'. 

"  From  an  after-investigation,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  the  cause  of 
this  phenomenon  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  trade-winds  are  dammed 
up  by  the  Andes,  and  that  the  atmosphere  in  those  parts  is,  from  this 
cause,  compressed,  and,  consequently,  heavier  than  it  is  further  from 
the  mountains,  though  over  a  less  elevated  portion  of  the  earth. 
The  discovery  of  this  fact  has  led  me  to  place  little  reliance  in  the 
indications  of  the  barometer  for  elevation,  at  the  eastern  foot  of  the 
Andes.  It  is  reasonable,  however,,  to  suppose  that  this  cause  would 
no  longer  operate  at  Egas,  nearly  one  thousand  miles  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Huallaga." 

The  report  of  Lieutenant  Gibbon,  is  also  exceed- 
ingly instructive.  Separating  from  Lieutenant  Hern- 
don  at  Tarma,  upon  the  Andes,  he  pursued  a  southern 


THE    WEATHER.  183 

course,  along  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  chain  from 
11°  30'  south,  almost  to  18°  south,  at  Ohuro,  making 
a  journey  of  about  7°  30'  of  latitude. 

A  considerable  portion  of  this  journey  was  over 
eastern  and  less  elevated  portions  of  the  Andes ;  but 
little  below,  however,  the  line  of  perpetual  snow. 
Here,  during  the  dry  season,  he  met  with  frequent 
showers  and  fogs  from  the  eastward,  but  left  them  as 
he  descended  into  the  plains  upon  the  table-land. 
There  he  found  the  dry  season  more  distinctly  mark- 
ed ;  but  occasional  irregularities  were  found  upon  the 
table-lands,  as  every  where  upon  corresponding  ele- 
vations. The  S.  E.  trades,  however,  were  there 
obvious,  during  the  dry  season,  notwithstanding  the 
irregularities.  The  rainy  season,  from  December  to 
May,  he  spent  at  Cochabamba,  and  at  its  close  he 
traveled  north  down  the  Madeira  and  its  tributaries, 
to  the  Amazon.  Although  scarcely  consistent  with 
my  prescribed  limits,  I  can  not  forbear  making  a 
few  extracts.  Thus,  when  on  the  mountains,  east  of 
Huanvelica,  in  the  K  E.  counter-trade,  he  says : 

"Our  course  is  to  the  eastward.  The  snow-capped  mountains  are 
in  sight  to  the  west.  Temperature  of  a  spring  48°  ;  air  4A°.  Light- 
ning flashes  all  around  us ;  as  the  wind  whirls  from  north-east  to 
south-west,  rain  and  snow-flakes  become  hail,  half  the  size  of  peas. 
Thunder  roars  and  echoes  through  the  mountains ;  the  mules  hang 
their  heads,  and  travel  slowly;  the  thinly-clad  aboriginal  walks 
shivering  as  he  drives  the  train  ahead;  the  dark  cumulus  cloud 
seems  to  wrap  itself  around  us." 

Again,  at  the  Bombam  Post-house,  in  the  focus  of 
change  from  cirrus  to  cumulus,  and  stratus,  and 
storm : 


184  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

"  The  winds  are  very  gentle,  and  curl  the  cirrus  or  hairy  clouds  in 
most  graceful  shapes  about  the  hoary -headed  Andes,  in  rich  and  deli- 
cate clusters ;  when  the  peak  is  concealed,  all  but  the  blue  tinge  be- 
low the  snow,  we  see  a  natural  bridal  vail.  An  easterly  wind  lifts 
and  turns  them  to  dark,  cumulus  clouds,  settled  on  the  frosty  crown, 
like  an  old  man's  winter  cap  ;  the  physiognomical  expression  is  that 
of  anger.  The  change  is  accompanied  by  thunder,  and  seems  to 
command  all  around  to  clothe  themselves  for  storms.  The  cold  rain 
comes  down  in  fine  drops  upon  us ;  the  day  grows  darker,  and  the 
clouds  press  close  upon  the  earth.11 

Daring  an  excursion  east  of  Cuzco — 

"  Turning  from  the  river,  we  ascend  a  steep  ridge  of  mountains — 
the  eastern  range  at  last.  A  heavy  mist  wafts  upward  as  the  winds 
drive  it  against  the  side  of  the  Andes,  so  that  our  view  is  shortened  to 
a  few  hundred  yards.  "We  hope  the  curtain  will  rise  that  we  may 
view  the  productions  of  the  tropical  valley  below ;  but  the  mist 
thickens,  and  the  day  gets  dark  with  heavy,  heaped-up  black  clouds ; 
a  rain-storm  follows.  The  grasses  are  thrifty,  and  the  top  of  the  ridge 
covered  with  a  thick  sod.  By  barometer,  we  stand  eleven  thousand 
one  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea." 

In  May  following,  Laving  spent  the  rainy  season 
in  Cochabamba,  he  travels  north — 

"  Our  route  from  Tarma  to  Oruro  was  south.  "We  traveled  ahead 
of  the  sun.  In  December,  when  we  arrived  in  Cochabamba,  the  sun 
had  just  passed  us.  As  soon  as  he  did  so,  the  rains  descended 
heavily  on  this  side  of  the  ridge ;  it  was  impossible  to  proceed.  The 
roads  were  flooded,  the  ravines  impassable,  and  the  arrieros  put  off 
their  journey  until  the  dry  season  had  commenced.  After  the  sun 
passed  the  zenith  of  Cochabamba,  and  had  fairly  moved  the  rain  belt 
after  him  toward  the  north,  then  we  came  out  from  under  shelter,  and 
are  now  walking  behind  the  rain  belt  in  dry  weather,  while  the  in- 
habitants are  actively  employed  in  tending  their  crops." 

So  on  the  north  of  the  equatorial  belt,  along  the 
whole  line  of  the  Andes,  up  to  the  northern  bound- 
ary of  the  desert  valley  of  the  Gila,  rain  falls  on  the 
high  mountain-ranges,  owing  to  the  contiguity  of 


THE    WEATHER.  185 

the  counter-trade  and  the  diversion  of  showers  to  the 
north,  along  their  eastern  sides. 

During  the  survey  of  the  boundary  line  between 
Mexico  and  California,  etc.,  by  the  commission  under 
Mr.  Bartlett,  it  became  necessary  to  find  some  spot 
where  water  and  grass  were  abundant,  for  the  head 
quarters  of  the  commission.  This  was  found,  and 
could  only  be  found,  upon  the  Mimbres  Mountains,  at 
an  old  abandoned  Spanish  copper  mine,  7,000  or 
8,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  surrounded 
with  peaks  of  still  greater  height.  These  elevated 
ranges  were  within  influential  distance  of  the  counter- 
trade, and  here  snow  fell  in  the  winter,  from' the  ex- 
tra-tropical belt,  and  rain,  in  showers,  in  summer, 
at  the  period  of  the  most  northerly  extension  of  the 
tropical  belt ;  when  fifteen  miles  off,  in  the  valley,  it 
was  unbroken  drought.  Mr.  Bartlett  thus  describes 
it  in  his  Personal  Narrative : 


"  Ve  reached  this  district  on  the  2d  of  May.  Vegetation  was  then 
forward,  though  there  had  been  no  rain.  But  it  must  be  remembered 
that  during  the  winter  there  is  snow,  and  hence  a  good  deal  of  moist- 
ure in  the  earth  when  the  spring  opens.  The  months  of  May  and 
June  were  moderately  warm.  On  the  third  of  July  the  first  rain 
fell.  It  then  came  in  torrents,  accompanied  by  hail,  and  lasted  three 
or  four  hours.  Many  of  our  adobe  houses  were  deluged  with  water, 
and  the  mountain-sides  exhibited  cataracts  in  every  direction.  The 
Arroyo,  which  passes  through  the  village,  and  which  furnishes  barely 
water  enough  for  our  party  and  the  animals,  became  so  much  swollen 
as  to  render  it  difficult  to  cross ;  and,  by  the  time  it  had  received  the 
numerous  mountain  torrents,  which  fall  into  it  within  a  mile  from 
our  camp,  it  became  impassable  for  wagons,  or  even  mules.  The 
dry  gullies  became  rapid  streams,  five  or  six  feet  deep,  and  sometimes 
fifty  feet  or  more  across.  On  this  day,  a  party  in  coming  to  the 
copper  mines,  from  the  plain  below,  where  there  had  been  no  rain, 
found  themselves  suddenly  in  a  region  overflowing  with  water, 


186  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

so  that  their  progress  was  arrested,  and  they  were  obliged  to  wait 
until  the  flood  had  subsided.  After  this  we  had  occasional  showers, 
during  the  months  of  July  and  August." 

The  location  of  this  mountain  station  is  near  the 
thirty-third  degree  of  north  latitude,  while  the  north- 
ern limit  of  the  equatorial  belt,  nowhere,  except 
upon  the  mountain  ranges  and  table-lands  of  Mexico, 
extends  above  25*. 

There,  for  the  reason  we  have  been  considering,  it 
does  extend  further  north  during  July  and  August, 
in  occasional  showers,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount 
Picacho,  Mr.  Bartlett  met  one  of  its  mountain  thun- 
der-storms on  the  13th  of  July,  on  his  return  south 
through  Mexico,  in  latitude  32°,  in  the  following 
year.  (Personal  Narrative,  vol.  ii.  p.  285).  These 
showers  originated  in  strata  of  counter-trade,  which 
had  followed  up  along  the  eastern  side  of  the  mount- 
ains, and  not  from  strata  which  had  crossed  them 
and  curved  to  the  eastward,  as  is  shown  by  the  course 
of  progression  of  the  showers. 

Let  us  look,  in  this  connection,  at  a  fact  or  two  of 
great  interest,  though  not  directly  connected  with  the 
point  in  hand.  The  southern  limit  of  the  extra- 
tropical  belt  in  winter,  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  North 
America,  is  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Diego,  at  about 
32°.  In  summer,  that  limit  is  carried  up  above 
Astoria,  which  is  in  latitude  46°  11' — about  14° — 
yet  New  Mexico  receives  little  if  any  rain  in  winter 
in  the  vicinity  of  Albuquerque,  but  does  receive  a 
limited  supply  of  about  seven  inches  in  summer  and 
autumn,  five  and  a  half  inches  of  which  falls  in 


THE    WEATHER.  187 

June,  July,  and  August.  Albuquerque  is  in  latitude 
35°  13',  below  the  southern  summer  limit  of  the 
extra-tropical  belt,  and  north  of  the  northern  limit 
of  the  equatorial  belt.  This  anomaly  is  explained 
by  the  extension  west  over  northern  New  Mexico, 
of  the  extreme  western  edge  of  our  concentrated 
counter-trade,  by  reason  of  its  issuing  further  west 
from  the  equatorial  belt  in  its  northern  extension  in 
the  summer  months.  This  western  edge,  in  curving 
to  the  east,  north-east  of  New  Mexico,  covers  the 
north-western  States,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  "Wisconsin, 
etc.,  and  furnishes  them  that  great  excess  of  summer 
precipitation  which  is  a  peculiarity  of  their  climate ; 
and  its  absence  further  east  in  winter,  and  the  very 
great  elevation  of  the  Eocky  Mountains  and  other 
ranges  over  which  their  ordinary  counter-trade  of  that 
season  curves,  account  for  the  absence  of  much  pre- 
cipitation and  snow  there,  or  over  the  valley  of  the 
Rio  Grande  in  New  Mexico,  in  winter. 

"We  may  now  see,  too,  why  the  western  coast  and 
the  Pacific  region  of  the  continent,  below  45°,  are  so 
deficient  in  moisture.  The  S.  E.  trades,  which  arise 
from  the  western  portion  of  the  south  Atlantic  and  the 
continent  of  South  America,  which,  if  it  were  not  for 
the  Andes  chain,  in  their  natural  course,  after  passing 
the  equatorial  belt,  would  continue  on  to  the  north- 
west until  they  passed  the  limits  of  the  N.  E.  trades, 
and  curve  in  upon  the  western  portion  of  our  conti- 
nent below  45°,  and  supply  it  bountifully  with  rain, 
are,  in  part,  perhaps,  diverted  along  the  eastern  side 
of  those  mountains  to  swell  the  volume  of  our  counter- 


188  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

trade,  and  in  part  pass  them,  almost  exhausted  of 
their  supply  of  moisture  by  their  contiguous  recipro- 
cal action.  Hence,  too,  the  deficiency  of  precipita- 
tion at  the  base  of  the  Andes,  on  the  western  side, 
and  the  peculiar  and  irregular  character  of  the  winds 
under  the  western  lee  of  the  Andean  range.  Baffling 
airs  and  bands  of  calms  prevail  on  this  portion  of  the 
Pacific,  except  where  the  mountains  fall  off,  and  then 
there  is  a  westerly  or  south-westerly  monsoon  under 
the  equatorial  belt.  Says  Lieutenant  Maury  in  his 
Charts,  sixth  edition,  p.  731 : 

"  The  passage,  under  canvass,  from  Panama  to  California,  as  at 
present  made,  is  the  most  tedious,  uncertain,  and  vexatious  that  is 
known  to  navigators. 

"  My  investigations  have  been  carried  far  enough  to  show  that  at 
certain  seasons  of  the  year  a  vessel  bound  from  Panama  to  California, 
must  cross  at  least  three,  at  some  seasons  four,  such  meetings  of 
•winds  or  bands  of  calms,  before  she  can  enter  the  region  of  the 
N.  E.  trades.  Hence  the  tedious  passage." 

Such  will  ever  be  the  state  of  things  on  this  conti- 
nent and  upon  the  eastern  Pacific,  so  long  as  the 
S.  E.  counter-trades  are  compelled  to  pass  over  the 
mountain  chain  of  South  and  Central  America. 

Again,  if  we  examine  carefully  the  belt  or  zone  of 
extra-tropical  rains,  we  shall  find  that  the  focus  of 
greatest  precipitation  is  considerably  north  of  its 
southern  limit,  and  that,  other  things  being  equal, 
this  focus  travels  north  in  summer,  and  gives  to 
higher  latitudes  their  needed  summer  rains.  This  is 
very  apparent  upon  the  north-western  portion  of  our 
continent,  as  the  following  table  will  show : 


THE    WEATHER. 


189 


San  Diego,  Cal. 
San  Francisco. 
Cant.,Far  W.,Cal. 
Astoria,  Oregon. 
Puget's  S'd,  Ore. 
Sitka,  Russ.  Am. 

3 

c 

4 

i 

l 

I 

<; 

i- 

2 

«; 

~ 

| 

£ 

< 

cF 

I 

1 

3 

£ 
>« 

32°  41 

37°  48' 
39°  02' 
46°  11' 
47°  07' 
57°    3 

0.3    1.7 

1.7|  0-5 
3.3    0.6 
27.0  10.9 
11.81   3.9 
2.5  1   9.6 

1.1 

4.4 
6.4 
6.1 
4.7 
3, 

0.9  0.5 
2.1  0.4 
2.2  0.9 
4,4  5.9 
4.1  0.8 
3.3  1.9 

(l.fi 
0.0 
0.0 
2.6 
O.fi 
5.9 

0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.5 
3.7 

0.2 
0.0 
0.0 
2.3 
1  ? 

0.0   0.1 
0.4   0.6 
0.3   0.1 
1.9   6.7 
1636 

1.5 

3.0 
3.5 
13.2 
s  o 

3.4 
5.5 
4.C 
5.2 

fi.l 

* 

9.6 

18.8 
21.9 
87.2 
44.8 
79.5 

10.1 

14.812.7    7.4 
1       1 

The  figures  are  for  inches  and  tenths  of  an  inch  of  rain. 

Thus,  it  will  be  seen  that  in  January,  when  the 
southern  line  is  at  San  Diego,  at  the  south  line  of 
California,  the  focus  of  precipitation  is  over  Oregon ; 
and  that  in  August  and  September  when  the  south- 
ern line  is  carried  up  and  over  Oregon,  the  focus  has 
traveled  north  to  Sitka,  and  that  it  is  always  at  least 
10°  north  of  the  southern  line  of  the  belt  upon  that 
coast.  The  increased  quantities  of  rain  which  fall 
at  the  focus  of  precipitation  there,  from  Oregon  up, 
are  doubtless  much  enhanced  by  the  equatorial 
oceanic  current  which  flows  over  opposite  that  part 
of  the  continent.  A  like  effect,  precisely,  is  produced 
in  Europe.  The  quantity  of  rain  which  falls  at 
Bergen,  in  Norway,  being  87TVo-  inches  per  year, 
more  than  three  times  the  average  for  that  conti- 
nent. 

The  difference  shown  in  the  foregoing  table,  be- 
tween Astoria  and  Puget's  Sound,  is  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  latter  lies  in  the  interior  and  within  the 
coast  range  of  mountain?,  while  Astoria  is  situated  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  Eiver,  with  an  open  view 
of  the  ocean. 

A  like   comparative   increase  of  precipitation  in 


190 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


northern  latitudes,  in  summer,  is  found  every  where 
varying  according  to  the  local  influences  which  ope- 
rate in  the  particular  case.  Thus, 


There  falls  in 

Winter. 

Spring. 

Summer. 

Aut'ran. 

Yiar. 

Burlington,  Vt.,lat.44°20' 

5.7 

7.3 

11.4 

9.8 

33.9 

Albany,  N.Y.,  lat.  42°  39' 

8.3 

9.8 

12.3 

10.3 

40.7 

Minnesota,  Iowa,  lat.  41°  28' 

7.3 

12.3 

17.4     1  11.7 

48.8 

St.  Peters'g,  Russ.,  lat.  59°  56' 
Pekin,  China,  lat.  40° 

3.89 
.54 

3.20 
3.35 

5.70      4.71 
.  18.80  !    2.29 

17.51 
25.68 

Pekin  lies  in  the  northern  part  of  China,  and 
would  have  a  much  larger  fall  of  rain  from  a  con- 
centrated counter-trade,  but  for  the  numerous  mount- 
ain-ranges which  intersect  its  path  in  winter,  but 
over  which  it  passes  at  a  greater  elevation  during 
the  summer — a  peculiarity  from  which  the  eastern 
section  of  this  country  is  most  remarkably  and 
happily  free. 

Thus,  it  is  obvious  that  the  focus  of  precipitation 
in  the  zone  of  extra  tropical  rains,  is  some  8°  to 
12°  north  of  its  southern  line,  and  travels  with  the 
whole  machinery  in  its  annual  transit  north  and 
south. 

It  is  a  question  of  some  difficulty,  perhaps,  wheth- 
,cr  this  focus  is  increased  by  the  increase  of  magnetic 
action  at  this  point,  for  both  the  line  of  descent  of  the 
counter-trade,  and  the  focus  of  magnetic  action,  are 
carried  up  in  a  like  manner,  and  for  a  like  cause,  and, 
in  all  probability,  both  concur  in  the  result. 

There  is  exceeding  wisdom  in  this  provision  for 
the  gradual  subsidence  of  the  counter-trade,  and 


THE    WEATHER.  191 

gradual  increase  of  magnetic  intensity,  and  conse- 
quent gradual  precipitation.  On  the  European  con- 
tinent, and  over  western  Asia,  there  are  50°  of  lati- 
tude to  be  supplied  with  moisture  bj  this  polar  belt 
of  rains.  If  the  focus  of  precipitation  was  at  its 
southern  border,  the  counter-trade  would  be  depriv- 
ed of  its  moisture  at  that  point,  and  little  would  reach 
the  more  northern  portions  of  the  globe  which  are  to 
be  supplied  bj  it.  But  the  movement  of  the  whole 
machinery  carries  up  the  southern  line  from  the  south 
boundaries  of  the  Barbary  States  on  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean and  portions  of  southern  Europe,  and  the 
focus  of  precipitation  and  of  near  approach  of  the 
counter- trade  to  the  earth,  being  situated  far  north  of 
the  southern  line,  is  carried  up  correspondingly, 
while  the  combination  of  the  moisture  with  the  atmos- 
phere by  south  polar  magnetism  and  electricity,  and 
the  gradual  descent  of  the  counter-trade,  enable  it 
to  resist,  to  some  extent,  the  influence  of  north  polar 
magnetism  and  cold,  and  thus  retain  portions  of  its 
moisture  for  distribution  in  the  polar  regions. 

The  elevation  of  the  counter-trade  above  the  earth  varies 
in  the  same  latitude  with  the  variations  in  the  phenomena 
of  the  weather.  An  attentive  observation  of  the 
clouds  of  our  climate  will  soon  satisfy  any  one  of 
this,  after  he  has  become  familiar  with  them,  so  as 
to  distinguish  with  certainty  the  clouds  of  the  trade. 
Its  range,  in  this  country,  is  from  3,000  feet,  or  less, 
to  12,000  feet  above  the  earth,  and  its  depth  with  us 
probably,  from  6,000  to  8,000  feet.  Gay-Lussac,  in 
his  scientific  experimental  balloon  ascension,  the  first 


192  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

of  that  character  ever  made,  except  an  imperfect  one 
just  previous,  by  himself  and  Biot,  found  it  at  about 
12,000  feet  over  Paris,  and  about  4,000  feet  in  depth.. 
It  is  detected  by  the  thermometer  when  much  ele- 
vated. 

The  atmosphere  grows  cool  as  it  is  ascended  on 
mountains,  or  by  balloons.  The  rate  of  cooling  is 
ordinarily  about  1°  of  Fahrenheit  for  every  300  feet. 
If  it  were  not  for  the  equatorial  current,  this  pro- 
gressive decrease  of  temperature  would  doubtless  be 
perfectly  uniform.  Of  Gay-Lussac's  ascension,  on 
this  point  it  was  said  : 

"At  forty  minutes  after  9  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  Sep- 
tember, 1804,  the  scientific  voyager  ascended,  as  before,  from  the 
garden  of  the  repository  of  models.  The  barometer  then  stood  at 
30.66  English  inches,  the  thermometer  at  82°  Fahrenheit,  and  the 
hygrometer  at  57i°.  The  sky  was  unclouded,  but  misty. 

"  During  the  whole  of  this  gradual  ascent,  he  noticed,  at  short  in- 
tervals, the  state  of  the  barometer,  the  thermometer,  and  the  hygrom- 
eter. Of  these  observations,  amounting  in  all  to  twenty-one,  he 
has  given  a  tabular  view.  We  regret,  however,  that  he  has  neglect- 
ed to  mark  the  times  at  which  they  were  made,  since  the  results  ap- 
pear to  have  been  very  materially  modified  by  the  progress  of  the 
day.  It  would  likewise  have  been  desirable  to  have  compared  them 
with  a  register,  noted  every  half  hour,  at  the  Observatory.  From 
the  surface  of  the  earth  to  the  height  of  12,125  feet,  the  temperature 
of  the  atmosphere  decreased  regularly,  from  82°  to  47°  3'  by  Fahren- 
heit's scale ;  but  afterward  it  increased  again,  and  reached  to  53°  6'  at 
the  altitude  of  14,000  feet;  evidently  owing  to  the  influence  of  the 
warm  currents  of  air  which,  as  the  day  advanced,  rose  continually 
from  the  heated  ground.  From  that  point  the  temperature  diminish- 
ed, with  only  slight  deviations  from  a  perfect  regularity.  At  the 
height  of  18,636  feet  the  thermometer  subsided  to  32°  9',  on  the 
verge  of  congelation;  but  it  sunk  to  14°  9'  at  the  enormous  altitude 
of  22,912  feet  above  Paris,  or  23,040  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
the  utmost  limit  of  the  baloon's  ascent." 

The  high  range  of  the  barometer  indicated  a  very 


THE    WEATHER.  193 

considerable  elevation  of  the  trade  at  the  time  Gay- 
Lussac  made  his  ascension.  I  am  not  aware  that  it 
has  since  been  found  at  so  great  an  elevation,  in  so 
high  a  latitude,  though  it  is  undoubtedly  elevated  by 
the  interposition  of  a  large  volume  of  IS".  W.  air, 
upon  some  occasions,  to  nearly  the  same  altitude 
with  us. 

In  the  extract  in  relation  to  the  ascension  of  Gay- 
Lussac,  we  have  another  of  the  thousand  hastily- 
adopted  and  absurd  hypotheses  connected  with  the 
caloric  theory.  It  is  obviously  and  utterly  impossible 
that  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  accumulation  of  heat 
at  the  surface  of  the  earth  t;  as  the  day  advanced" — that 
is,  during  the  forenoon,  warm  currents  should  ascend, 
unobserved  by  Gay-Lussac  during  an  ascent  of 
12,000  feet — not  affecting  in  the  least  so  large  an  inter- 
vening body  of  the  atmosphere  or  his  thermometer, 
and  in  such  immense  volumes  as  to  increase  the 
warmth  of  a  stratum  of  4,000  feet  in  depth,  an  aver- 
age of  3°  of  Fahrenheit,  and  to  the  extent  of  6°  at 
the  center. 

Very  few  balloon  ascensions  have  been  made  with 
a  view  to  scientific  and  accurate  observation.  But 
other  aeronauts  have  met  the  counter-trade  at  differ- 
ent altitudes,  and  in  both  clear  and  stormy  weather. 

Eecently,  in  1852,  four  ascensions  were  made  in 
England,  under  the  direction  of  the  Kew  Observa- 
tory Committee,  of  the  British  Association.  I  copy 
from  the  August  number  of  the  "London,  Edinburg, 
and  Dublin  Magazine,"  for  1853,  the  following  con- 
densed account  of  the  result : 


194:  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

"  The  ascents  took  place  on  August  17th,  August  26th,  October 
21st,  and  November  10th,  1852,  from  the  Vauxhall  Gardens,  with 
Mr.  C.  Green's  large  balloon. 

"  The  principal  results  of  the  observations  may  be  briefly  stated 
as  follows : 

"  Each  of  the  four  series  of  observations  shows  that  the  progress  of 
the  temperature  is  not  regular  at  all  heights,  but  that  at  a  certain 
height  (varying  on  different  days)  the  regular  diminution  becomes  ar- 
rested, and  for  the  space  of  about  2,000  feet  the  temperature  remains 
constant,  or  even  increases  by  a  small  amount.  It  afterward  resumes 
its  downward  course,  continuing,  for  the  most  part,  to  diminish  reg- 
ularly throughout  the  remainder  of  the  height  observed.  There  is 
thus,  in  the  curves  representing  the  progression  of  temperature  with 
height,  an  appearance  of  dislocation,  always  in  the  same  direction, 
but  varying  in  amount  from  7°  to  12°. 

In  the  first  two  series,  viz. :  August  17th  and  26th,  this  peculiar  in- 
terruption of  the  progress  of  temperature  is  strikingly  coincident  with 
a  large  and  rapid  fall  in  the  temperature  of  the  dew-point.  The  same 
is  exhibited  in  a  less  marked  manner  on  November  10th.  On  Octo- 
ber 21st  a  dense  cloud  existed  at  a  height  of  about  3,000  feet;  the 
temperature  decreased  uniformly  from  the  earth  up  to  the  lower  sur- 
face of  the  cloud.  "When  a  slight  rise  commenced,  the  rise  continuing 
through  the  cloud,  and  to  about  600  feet  above  its  upper  surface,  when 
the  regular  descending  progression  was  resumed.  At  a  short  distance 
above  the  cloud,  the  dew-point  fell  considerably,  but  the  rate  of  di- 
minution of  temperature  does  not  appear  to  have  been  affected  in  this 
instance  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  other  series ;  the  phenomenon 
BO  strikingly  shown  in  the  other  three  cases  being  perhaps  modified 
by  the  existence  of  moisture  in  a  condensed  or  vesicular  form. 

"  It  would  appear,  on  the  whole,  that  about  the  principal  plane  of 
condensation  heat  is  developed  in  the  atmosphere,  which  has  the 
effect  of  raising  the  temperature  of  the  higher  air  above  what  it 
would  have  been  had  the  rate  of  decrease  continued  uniformly  from 
the  earth  upward," 

These  gentlemen  do  not  adopt  the  absurd  explana- 
tion of  the  French  philosophers ;  they  account  for 
the  phenomenon  by  supposing  heat  to  be  developed  at 
that  particular  part  of  the  atmosphere  ;  but  they  are 
equally  wide  of  the  mark.  They  found  the  excess 
of  heat  there  to  the  extent  of  7°  to  12°,  and  on  days 


THE    WEATHER.  195 

when  there  was  no  condensation,  or  other  assignable 
cause  for  its  development. 

The  temperature  of  the  counter- trade  partakes, 
doubtless,  of  the  temperature  of  the  adjoining  strata 
at  its  upper  and  lower  portion,  and  has  never  been 
found  much,  if  any,  higher  than  60°  at  the  center. 
Nor  could  it  be  expected.  The  trade,  in  its  upward 
curving  course,  within  the  tropics,  attains  a  consider- 
able altitude  where  the  atmosphere  is  comparatively 
cold,  and  necessarily  loses  a  portion  of  its  heat  there, 
and  during  its  northern  flow.  Probably  its  central 
summer  range,  in  the  latitude  of  Paris,  is  not  far 
from  55°,  and  with  us  60°. 

The  contrast  between  the  trade  and  the  surround- 
ing atmosphere,  in  winter,  is  much  more  striking, 
and  this  has  been  observed  particularly  upon  the 
Brockeii  of  the  Alps,  and  in  the  polar  regions. 

a  In  all  seasons  the  temperature  is  higher  on  the 
Brocken,  on  a  serene,  than  on  a  cloudy  day,  and,  in 
the  month  of  January,  the  serene  days  were  warmer 
than  at  Berlin"  (Kamtz's  Meteorology,  by  Walker, 
p.  217.— Note.) 

As  the  portion  of  the  counter- trade,  which  does 
not  become  depolarized — in  diminished  volume — pro- 
gresses toward  the  polar  regions,  it  settles  nearer 
the  earth,  and  within  the  Arctic  circle  is  found  but 
little  way  above  it.  Thus,  in  December,  1821,  Parry, 
at  Winter  Island,  in  latitude  66°  11',  flew  a  kite,  with 
a  thermometer  attached,  to  the  height  of  379  feet, 
and  found  that  the  temperature,  instead  of  falling  1^-°, 
the  usual  ratio  of  decrease,  rose  f  of  a  degree. 


196  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

The  same  thing  was  observed  at  Spitsbergen,  in 
latitude  77°  30'  north,  and  at  Bosekop,  latitude 
69°  58',  by  a  scientific  commission,  and  by  means  of 
kites,  confined  balloons,  and  the  ascent  of  elevations. 

"  In  winter  the  temperature  goes  on  increasing  with  the  height, 
up  to  a  certain  limit,  which  is  variable,  according  to  the  different 
atmospheric  circumstances,  the  influence  of  which  is  not  yet  very 
exactly  known.  The  hour  of  the  day  appears  to  be  indifferent,  since 
there  exists  no  thermometric  diurnal  variation  in  the  strata  of  the 
surface.  The  mean  of  thirty-six  experiments,  made  with  kites,  or 
with  captive  balloons,  at  Bosekop,  latitude  69°  58'  north,  has  given  a 
mean  rate  of  increase  of  1°  6'  for  the  first  hundred  meters.*  Be- 
yond this  limit,  and  even  beyond  the  first  60  or  80  meters,  the 
temperature  again  becomes  decreasing,  at  first  very  slowly,  but  after- 
ward the  decrease  is  accelerated.  The  observations  that  have  been 
made  on  the  flanks,  or  on  the  summits,  of  mountains,  during  the 
same  expeditions,  entirely  confirm  these  results.  The  cooling  influ- 
ence of  a  soil,  that  radiates  its  own  heat  for  several  weeks,  without 
receiving  any  thing  on  the  part  of  the  sun,  in  compensation  of  its 
losses,  the  influence  of  counter-currents  from  above,  coming  from  the 
west  and  the  south-west,  with  a  high  temperature,  account  for  this 
anomaly,  which,  in  winter,  represents  the  normal  state  of  the  most 
northern  parts  of  the  European  continent."  (Walker's  Kamtz,  p. 
615.— Note.) 

Mr.  Walker  is  the  only  author,  so  far  as  I  know, 
who  has  suspected  the  true  cause  of  the  phenomenon, 
viz.:  "currents  from  above  coining  from  the  west 
and  south-west,  with  a  high  temperature ;"  but  the 
caloric  theory  "  sticks  like  a  burr,"  and  he  adheres 
also  to  the  idea  that  a  snow-clad  surface,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  sun,  can  aid,  by  radiation,  in  warming 
the  atmosphere  for  a  distance  of  several  hundred 
yards  above  it,  increasing  the  warmth  as  the  distance 
from  the  earth  increases  ! 

*  A  meter  is  1  yard,  and  .0936  of  a  yard. 


THE    WEATHER.  197 

This  contrast  between  the  counter-trade  and  the 
adjacent  atmosphere,  in  winter,  in  latitudes  as  low  as 
that  of  the  Brocken,  is  probably  heightened  by  the 
increased  warmth  of  the  former,  at  that  season.  The 
S.  E.  trades  then  form  under  a  vertical  sun,  and  the 
difference  of  temperature  can  not  be  less  than  from 
6°  to  8°.  Not  unfrequently  in  winter  and  spring  the 
rain  will  fall  with  a  temperature  of  50°  to  55°,  when 
the  atmosphere  near  the  earth  is  10°  or  20°  or  more, 
below  those  points ;  and  it  is  frozen  to  every  ob- 
ject upon  which  it  falls.  The  trade  stratum,  from 
which  it  descends,  is  not  warmed  by  "  radiation"  or 
by  ascending  currents  from  a  snow-clad  surface,  and 
during  a  cloudy  day ;  nor  by  a  "  development  of 
heat"  at  that  particular  altitude,  but  it  has  brought 
its  heat  from  the  South  Atlantic,  and  imparts  it  to 
the  rain  which  forms  within  it.  There  is  every  rea- 
son to  believe  that  the  counter-trade  flows  north  in 
a  regular  descending  plane,  not  materially  differing 
from  that  of  the  line  of  perpetual  snow.  The  descent 
of  the  latter  is  well  ascertained  to  be  from  about 
16,000  feet  at  the  equator,  to  the  surface  at  the  poles. 
The  plane  of  the  counter-trade  is  probably  much  the 
same,  varying  over  different  localities,  from  the  varied 
action  between  it  and  the  earth  which  we  are  consid- 
ering ;  and  probably  both  correspond  with  the  increase 
of  magnetic  intensity. 

Lieutenant  Maury,  in  an  able  and  original  article 
upon  the  circulation  of  the  atmosphere,  conceives 
the  bands  of  comparative  calms  at  the  northern 
limits  of  the  trades,  which  he  appropriately  terms 


198  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

the  "  Calms  of  Cancer"  to  be  nodes  in  the  circulation 
of  the  atmosphere,  and  that  the  upper  or  counter- 
trade here  decends  and  becomes  a  surface  wind  from 
the  S.  W.,  as  the  1ST.  E.  trade  is  a  surface  wind ;  and 
that  an  upper  current  from  the  poles  approaches  and 
descends  at  the  same  node,  to  make  the  N.  E.  trade. 
But  it  is  evident  he  adopted  that  conclusion  too 
hastily,  as  he  obviously  did  the  conclusion  that  the 
calms  of  the  horse  latitudes  were  a  type  of  all.  We 
have  seen  that  the  latter  are  increased  by  a  diversion 
of  the  counter-trade,  and  that  they  are  avoided  by 
making  easting.  So  it  may  be  observed  that  our 
upper  current  is  a  S.  "W.  current,  and  no  northerly 
upper  current  is  visible,  or  exists  over  the  country, 
however  it  may  be  in  western  Europe  and  the  North 
Pacific,  on  the  west  of  the  magnetic  poles,  where 
cold,  dry  northerly  and  north-easterly  winds  are 
found.  The  origin  and  progress  of  storms  withal  de- 
monstrates that  no  such  node  can  exist. 

Two  points  have  been  made  in  relation  to  the 
course  of  the  counter-trade  in  the  tropics,  and  are 
relied  upon  to  show  its  progress  there  to  the-K.  E., 
which  deserve  consideration. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  well  known  that  "rain 
dust"  falls  in  considerable  quantities  on  the  western 
coast  of  Africa,  particularly  about  the  Cape  de  Yerde 
Islands,  and  also  upon  the  Mediterranean  and  south- 
western Europe,  where  it  is  termed  "sirocco  dust." 

"This  dust,"  says  Lieutenant  Maury,  " when  subjected  to  micro- 
scopic examination,  is  found  to  consist  of  infusoria  and  organisms, 
whose  habitat,  (place  of  abode)  is  not  Africa,  but  South  America,  and 


THE    WEATHER.  199 

in  the  S.  B.  trade-wind  region  of  South  America.  Professor  Ehren- 
berg  has  examined  specimens  of  sea  dust,  from  the  Cape  de  Verdes 
and  the  regions  thereabout,  from  Malta,  Genoa,  Lyons,  and  the  Tyrol, 
and  he  has  found  such  a  similarity  among  them  as  would  not  have 
been  more  striking  had  these  specimens  been  all  taken  from  the 
same  pile. 

"  South  American  forms  he  recognizes  in  all  of  them ;  indeed,  they 
are  the  prevailing  form  in  every  specimen  he  has  examined. 

"It  may,  I  think,  be  now  regarded  as  an  established  fact,  that 
there  is  a  perpetual  upper  current  of  air  from  South  America  to  north 
Africa,  and  that  the  volume  of  air  in  these  upper  currents,  which 
flows  to  the  northward,  is  nearly  equal  to  the  volume  which  flows  to 
the  southward  with  the  N.  E.  trade-winds,  there  can  be  no  doubt," 
etc. 

Now,  it  is  doubtless  true  that  this  dust  is  trans- 
ported in  a  counter-trade,  and  that  such  dust  is  found 
in  South  America,  and  is  taken  up  there  by  sand- 
spouts, like  those  of  the  ocean  in  form  and  action. 
Both  Humboldt  and  Gibbon  have  graphically  de- 
scribed them.  Yet  I  do  not  think  the  point  well 
taken.  South-eastward  of  the  Cape  de  Yerdes,  where 
the  surface-trades — which,  becoming  counter-trades, 
pass  over  these  islands,  and,  recurving,  pass  over  the 
Mediterranean  and  south-western  Europe — should 
originate,  there  is  a  vast  extent  of  unexplored  conti- 
nent in  the  same  latitude  as  the  portion  of  South 
America  where  the  dust  is  found ;  and  the  same 
dry  seasons,  and  the  same  spouts,  in  all  probability, 
exist  in  both.  Until-  it  be  shown  that  such  forms 
have  no  "habitat"  in  central  and  southern  and  unex- 
plored Africa,  upon  the  same  latitudes  as  in  South 
America,  it  may  fairly  be  presumed  that  the  dust  is 
taken  up  there.  Indeed,  the  carve  upon  which  this 
dust  is  found  to  fall,  in  the  greatest  quantities,  is  very 


200  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

remarkable,  and  corresponds  remarkably  with  the 
law  of  curvature  of  the  counter-trade  we  have  consider- 
ed, and  with  the  progress  of  a  storm  upon  that  coast, 
and  over  the  Mediterranean,  investigated  by  Colonel 
Eeid.  (See  Eeid,  on  Storms  and  Variable  Winds, 
p.  276.)  This  curve  clearly  indicates  the  origin  of  the 
dust  in  South  Africa. 

The  second  point  is,  that  ashes  from  the  volcanos 
of  Mexico  and  Central  America  have  fallen  to  the 
north-east  of  the  place  where  they  were  ejected.  Mr. 
Eedfield  has  grouped  these  instances  of  volcanic 
eruption  usually  cited,  and  I  copy  from  him : 

"  We  learn  from  Humboldt,  that  in  the  great  eruption  of  Jorullo, 
a  volcano  of  southern  Mexico,  which  is  2,100  feet  above  the  sea,  in 
latitude  18°  45',  longitude  161°  30',  the  roofs  of  the  houses  in  Quere- 
taro,  more  than  150  miles  north,  37°  east  from  the  volcano,  were 
covered  with  the  volcanic  dust.  In  January,  1845,  an  eruption  took 
place  in  the  volcano  of  Cosiguina,  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  Central 
America,  in  latitude  13°  north,  and  having  an  elevation  of  3,800  feet, 
the  ashes  from  which  fell  on  the  island  of  Jamaica,  distant  730  miles 
north,  60°  east  from  the  volcano.  The  elevated  currents  by  which  vol- 
canic ashes  are  thus  transported  are  seldom  or  never  of  a  transient  or 
fortuitous  character ;  and  these  results,  therefore,  afford  us  one  of  the 
best  indications  of  their  general  course.  Thus,  the  progress  of  the 
higher  portion  of  the  trade-wind  was  marked  by  the  eruption  of 
Tnxtla,  latitude  18°  30',  longitude  95°,  which  covered  the  houses  in 
Vera  Cruz  with  ashos,  at  the  distance  of  80  miles  north,  55°  west, 
and  also  at  Perote,  160  miles  north,  60°  west.  The  ashes  from  the 
volcano,  at  St.  Vincent,  which  foil  at  Barbadoes,  and  east  of  that  isl- 
and, in  1812,  mark  the  course  of  a  current  from  the  westward,  which 
appears  there  at  times,  in  the  region  of  clouds,  and  may,  perhaps,  be 
connected  with  the  permanent  winds  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  Mexico." 

As  to  one  of  the  instances  cited  in  the  foregoing 
paragraph,  that  of  Tuxtla,  it  may  be  laid  out  of  the 
case — the  direction  conforming  substantially  to  the 


THE    WEATHER.  201 

assumed  course  of  the  counter-trade  at  that  point. 
St.  Vincent  lies  W.  N.  W.,  or  nearly  so,  of  Barbadoes, 
and  a  N.  W.  or  westerly  surface-wind,  prior  to,  and 
during  storms,  is  common  in  the  West  Indies  as  the 
N.  E.  is  here — both  alike,  blowing  in  opposition  to 
the  progressive  course  of  the  storm.  There  is  noth- 
ing strange  or  peculiar,  therefore,  respecting  that  in- 
stance, or  the  existence  of  variable  and  especially 
S.  W.  currents,  between  the  trades,  with  occasional 
partial  condensation. 

The  falling  of  the  ashes  from  Cosiguina,  upon 
Jamaica,  has  long  and  often  been  cited,  as  proof  that 
in  the  West  Indies  the  prevailing  upper  currents  run 
from  the  S.  W.  But  it  has  been  ascertained  that, 
during  the  same  eruption,  ashes  fell  700  miles  to  the 
westward,  on  the  deck  of  the  Conway,  a  vessel  then 
upon  the  Pacific  Ocean.  That  case,  therefore,  does 
not  prove  the  absence  of  the  S.  E.  counter-trade  at 
the  tune,  but  only  the  presence  of  another,  and  a 
different  current  above  or  below  it — and  it  may  have 
been  either,  and  transient. 

So  of  the  Jorullo  instance.  Investigation  would 
probably  have  shown  that  ashes  fell  to  the  N.  W., 
and  that  they  were  carried  N.  E.  by  a  transient  S.  W. 
wind  produced  by  the  existence  of  a  storm  to  the 
eastward,  or  one  of  those  states  of  partial  condensa- 
tion of  the  counter-trade  which  often  produce  cur- 
rents at  greater  distances  without  a  storm.  Not  one 
of  these  cases  disproves  the  existence  of  a  S.  E. 
counter- trade,  and  the  invariable  N.  W.  progression 
of  the  storms  of  those  latitudes  demonstrates  it. 


202  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

Occasional  anomalous  currents,  depending  upon 
storm  action  at  considerable  distance,  are  found  in 
our  atmosphere,  and  doubtless  are  there  also.  Thus, 
although  the  N.  W.  wind  is  almost  invariably  a  sur- 
face wind,  I  have,  in  a  few  instances,  seen  a  N.  "W. 
set  at  a  considerable  elevation,  converging  toward  a 
peculiarly  stormy  state  of  atmosphere  far  south  of 
us,  about  the  period  of  the  spring  equinox.  And  so 
in  one  or  two  instances  I  think  I  have  seen  light  cirro- 
stratus  clouds  above  the  counter-trade,  when  it  ran 
very  low,  setting  from  the  N".  E.,  although  the  usual 
and  almost  invariable  location  of  the  N.  E.  wind  is 
below  the  counter-trade  and  the  stratus  clouds  of  the 
storm.  Aeronauts,  too,  have  found  these  secondary 
currents  beneath  a  serene  and  cloudless  sky.  Indeed, 
the  S.  E.  counter-trade  doubtless  often  induces  a  thin 
secondary  current  of  S.  "W.  wind  between  itself  and 
the  surface-trade,  in  the  same  manner  that  similar 
currents  are  induced  with  us,  and  every  where. 

A  question  arises  here  of  considerable  interest, 
which,  I  confess,  I  can  not  answer  to  my  own  satis- 
faction. It  is,  whether  there  be,  or  not,  an  eastern 
progression  of  the  body  of  the  atmosphere  above  the  ma- 
chinery of  distribution.  I  have  thought  there  was, 
and  that  in  set  fair  weather  I  had  seen  a  peculiar 
kind  of  cirro-cumulus  cloud,  in  patches,  the  small 
cumuli  very  distinct  and  rounded,  moving  due  east, 
which  indicated  such  a  current.  But  I  am  not  satis- 
fied, from  my  own  observation,  that  it  is  so,  nor  is  it 
easy  to  determine  the  question.  The  moisture  of 
evaporation  rarely,  if  ever,  ascends  to  any  consider- 


THE    WEATHER.  203 

able  elevation,  and  the  upper  strata  must  be  very 
dry.  Hence,  condensation,  if  it  takes  place,  is  thin, 
and  perhaps  often  undiscernable.  Investigations 
upon  mountains  prove  little,  for  the  winds  of  the 
inferior  strata  rush  up  their  sides  and  over  them. 
It  is  an  open  question,  and  future  observation  may 
solve  it.  The  prevailing  opinion  seems  to  be  that 
there  is.  If  the  theory  of  Oersted,  in  relation  to  the 
circular  currents  of  a  magnet,  be  true,  there  should 
be  such  a  progression  produced  by  opposite  second- 
ary currents,  unless,  indeed,  it  be  also  true  that  those 
currents  are  inoperative  at  so  great  a  distance,  or 
their  influence  barely  suffices  to  retain  the  attenuat- 
ed atmosphere  in  its  place.  Perhaps  the  investiga- 
tions of  Ampere  conflict  with  it.  But  it  is  worth 
while,  I  think,  for  philosophers  to  inquire  whether 
the  transverse  position  of  the  needle  upon  the  wire 
is  not  the  effect  of  the  central  longitudinal  currents, 
conforming  to  the  circular  currents  of  the  wire,  and 
whether  it  is  not  owing  to  the  production  of  the  same 
currents  in  a  globe  by  the  circular  currents  of  Am- 
pere, that  the  globe  is  magnetized,  and  the  needles 
made  to  dip. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

IT  is  exceedingly  desirable,  in  a  practical  point  of 
view,  to  understand  the  precise  character  of  the  recip- 
rocal action  which  takes  place  between  the  earth 
and  the  counter-trade,  and  produces  the  varied  phe- 
nomena which  mark  our  climate.  We  have  seen 
that  the  same  laws,  other  things  being  equal,  operate 
every  where,  and  that  analogies  may  be  sought  in 
the  character  of  those  phenomena  elsewhere,  under 
the  same,  or  different,  modifying  circumstances. 
Looking,  therefore,  at  the  magneto-electric  movable 
machinery  as  a  whole,  and  its  influence  upon  the 
atmospheric  circulation  and  conditions,  we  find  many 
facts  which  point  to  a  primary  action  in  the  counter- 
trade, and  others  that  point  as  significantly  to  a 
primary  local-inducing-action  in  the  earth.  Let  us 
briefly  review  those  to  which  we  have  alluded,  and 
advert  to  some  others,  and  see  what  solution  of  the 
question  they  will  justify  : 

The  belt  of  inter-tropical  rains  appears  to  be,  in 
width,  and  amount  of  precipitation,  and  annual  travel 
north  and  south,  proportionate  to  the  volume  of  trades 
which  blow  into  it,  the  quantity  of  moisture  they 
contain,  and  the  elevation  of  the  surface  over  which 
they  meet. 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    THE    WEATHER.       205 

South.  America  is  the  most  thoroughly-watered 
country  within  the  tropics,  except,  perhaps,  portions 
of  Hindoostan,  Burmah,  Siam,  etc.,  on  south-eastern 
Asia.  The  contrast  between  both,  and  Africa,  as  for 
as  explored,  and  as  shown  by  its  rivers,  is  most  obvi- 
ous. The  Amazon,  alone,  delivers  more  water  to  the 
ocean  than  all  the  rivers  of  Africa. 

Of  the  width  of  the  belt  of  rains  over  Africa,  in 
the  interior,  we  know  little.  Its  northern  extension 
is  less,  by  from  7°  to  10°,  than  the  same  belt  over 
South  America,  the  West  Indies,  and  Mexico.  Prob- 
ably its  southern  is  also.  Upon  South  America,  the 
southern  edge  is  carried  down  to  Cochabamba,  in 
latitude  18°,  and  probably  to  25°,  to  the  northern 
edge  of  the  coast-desert  of  Peru,  while  it  is  rarely,  if 
ever,  found  over  the  Atlantic  below  7°,  a  difference 
of  12°  to  20°.  Over  South  America,  too,  the  quantity 
of  water  which  falls  is  also  vastly  in  excess  of  that 
which  falls  upon  the  Atlantic.  The  main  cause  of 
these  differences  is  obvious.  The  N.  E.  counter- 
trades which  blow  over  Africa,  originate  on  a  surface 
which  is  rainless,  as  eastern  Sahara,  Egypt,  Arabia, 
etc.,  or  subject  to  a  dry  season  by  the  northern  ascent 
of  the  southern  line  of  the  extra-tropical  belt,  as  the 
Barbary  States,  Syria,  Persia,  etc.,  and  their  supply 
of  moisture  is  necessarily  scanty.  On  the  south,  the 
S.  E.  trades  originate,  in  part,  upon  the  eastern  por- 
tion of  southern  Africa,  and,  in  part,  upon  the  Indian 
Ocean,  and  from  the  latter  source,  and  a  portion  of 
the  Mediterranean,  doubtless  most  of  the  water  which 
Mis  upon  Central  Africa,  is  derived. 


206  THE     PHILOSOPHY    OP 

The  K  E.  and  S.  E.  trades  which  blow  into  the 
inter-tropical  belt  upon  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
Atlantic,  originate  upon  similar  surfaces,  and  with 
like  effect.  Thus,  the  S.  E.  trades,  in  summer,  are 
from  the  Southern  portion  of  Africa,  and  the  N.  E., 
in  part,  from  the  Mediterranean  ;  and,  in  winter,  the 
N.  E.  from  the  deserts,  Senegambia,  Nigritia,  etc., 
and  the  S.  E.,  owing  to  the  narrowing  of  the  African 
continent,  mainly  from  the  South  Atlantic  and  Indian 
Oceans.  Going  west,  the  belt  widens,  and  its  range 
increases  until  the  Andes  are  reached;  but  under 
their  lee,  on  the  western  side,  a  totally  different  state 
of  things  is  found,  and  the  belt  of  the  coast  becomes 
broken  and  irregular,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  citation 
from  Maury. 

The  width,  extension,  and  excessive  precipitation 
of  the  belt,  over  South  America,  follow  the  same 
law.  The  South  Atlantic  widens  out  by  the  trend- 
ing of  the  coast  to  the  S.  W.,  and  furnishes  a  large 
area  for  the  unobstructed  formation  and  evaporative 
action  of  the  S.  E.  trades.  So  the  trending  of  the 
coast  to  the  N.  W.,  from  5°  south  to  the  northward, 
opens  a  large  area  for  a  like  formation  and  action  of 
the  N.  E.  trades.  No  correspondingly  favorable  cir- 
cumstances exist  any  where,  except,  perhaps,  around 
Hindoostan,  and  there  the  fall  of  rain  is  very  excess- 
ive in  some  places,  as  on  the  Kassaya  hills,  to  the  ex- 
tent of  400  inches  per  annum.  In  addition  to  this, 
the  magnetic  line  of  no  variation,  and  of  greater  in- 
tensity, which  runs  from  our  magnetic  pole,  obliquely, 
S.  S.  E.,  to  its  opposite  and  corresponding  pole  in 


THE    WEATHER.  207 

the  southern  hemisphere,  enters  the  Atlantic  on  the 
coast  of  North  Carolina,  and  traverses  it,  and  the 
eastern  portion  of  South  America,  through  the  whole 
trade-wind  region.  The  table-lands,  and  slopes,  and 
high  mountain  peaks,  meet  the  trades  successively, 
as  they  go  west,  and  the  latter  wrench  from  them,  to 
an  unusual  extent,  their  moisture ;  depressing  the  line 
of  perpetual  snow,  by  an  increase  of  quantity  on  the 
eastern  sides,  several  thousand  feet,  as  it  is  for  a  like 
cause  depressed  on  the  southern  side  of  the  Himma- 
layas.  On  the  eastern  slopes  and  tops  of  the  Andes, 
as  we  have  seen,  and  owing  to  their  elevation,  falls 
the  moisture  which,  according  to  the  working  of  the 
machinery,  and  the  law  of  curvature,  should  bless 
the  coast  line  of  Peru  and  northern  Chili,  the  eastern 
Pacific,  northern  Mexico,  California,  Utah,  and  New 
Mexico :  and,  while  the  Andes  stand,  the  curse  of 
comparative  aridity  must  rest  upon  them  all. 

Southern  Chili,  and  western  Patagonia  are  supplied 
by  the  N.  E.  trades,  which  originate  in  the  West 
Indies,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  the  Caribbean  Sea, 
and  the  Pacific,  off  Central  America,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Bay  of  Panama.  But  there,  again,  the 
same  effect  of  elevation  is  seen.  The  mountain 
slopes  of  southern  Chili  and  Patagonia  are  abundant- 
ly supplied,  and  their  mountain  ranges  are  drenched 
with  rain,  while  eastern  Patagonia  and  southern 
Buenos  Ayres,  under  their  lee,  are  comparatively 
dry.  So  the  S.  E.  trades,  which  originate  off  tho 
western  coast  of  South  America,  curve  in  upon,  and 
aided  by  the  oceanic  currents,  supply,  abundantly, 


208  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

the  N.  "W.  coast  of  this  continent,  north  of  Cali- 
fornia ;  and  there,  too,  the  coast,  and  its  elevated 
ranges,  receive,  as  we  have  seen,  a  very  large  propor- 
tionate supply  of  their  moisture.  Substantially,  the 
same  state  of  things,  as  far  as  circumstances  permit, 
is  reproduced  upon  Malaysia,  Hindoostan,  etc.,  and 
the  interposition  of  arid  New  Holland  upon  the 
evaporating  trade-surface  may  be  distinctly  traced 
upon  south-western  Asia.  Deserts  abound  there  ;  the 
Caspian  Sea  receives  the  drainage  of  a  very  large 
surface,  without  an  outlet ;  their  southern  line  of 
extra-tropical  rains  is  carried  up  very  far  in  summer, 
and  their  dry  season  is  intensely  hot.  (See  an  article 
in  the  American  Journal  of  Science,  for  July,  1846, 
by  Azariah  Smith.) 

Another  fact  in  this  connection  is  worthy  of  a 
moment's  consideration.  The  magnetic  equator,  as 
sought  by  the  dipping  needle,  is  not  coincident  with 
the  geographical  one.  Humboldt  found  it,  on  the 
Andes,  at  7°  1'  south,  and  it  has  been  found  still 
lower  in  the  Atlantic.  Over  Africa  it  rises  above 
the  geographical  equator,  and  descends  again  on  the 
Indian  Ocean.  About  midway  the  Pacific,  it  be- 
comes coincident  with  the  equator  of  the  earth  again. 
(See  diagram,  on  page  83.)  Perhaps  it  is  not  known, 
with  certainty,  why  this  is  so.  The  south  pole  may 
be  situated  nearer  the  geographical  pole  than  the 
north  one — but  this  is  not  believed  to  be  so,  nor 
could  it  make  the  difference.  The  greatest  southern 
depression  of  the  magnetic  equator  is  found  where 
the  lines  of  greatest  intensity,  and  of  no  variation, 


THE    WEATHER.  209 

are  found ;  and  at  the  more  intense  of  these  lines 
exists  the  greatest  depression.  From  this,  I  think, 
it  may  be  inferred  that  the  needle  is  affected  by  the 
greater  magnetic  intensity  of  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere, to  which  it  may  yet  appear  the  -obliquity 
of  the  earth's  axis  is  owing.  However  this  may  be, 
or  whatever  the  cause,  no  marked  effect  is  produced 
upon  the  trades.  The  S.  E.  trades,  by  reason  of  the 
greater  extent  of  ocean-surface  on  which  they  origi- 
nate, are  every  where  the  most  extensive,  regular, 
and  forcible.  The  south  polar  waters,  from  which 
they  rise,  are  every  where  trenching  upon,  and  over- 
riding, the  north  polar  ones ;  and  thus,  by  a  most 
beneficent  provision,  the  greater  portion  of  the  habit- 
able  surface  is  placed  in  the  northern  hemisphere, 
and  the  principal  portion  of  the  southern,  is  left  open 
to  an  extensive,  active  evaporative  action,  which  sup- 
plies the  northern  habitable  surface  with  a  large  ex- 
cess of  the  needed  moisture. 

The  condensation,  and  consequent  precipitation, 
which  takes  place  at  the  passing  of  the  trades,  as  we 
have  already  said,  over  the  ocean  and  lowlands,  takes 
place  mainly  in  the  day-time.  Upon  the  table-lands 
and  mountain-ranges,  it  often  continues  during  the 
evening  and  night.  The  morning,  and  early  part  of 
the  day,  however,  in  tropical  countries,  are  generally 
fair  at  all  elevations. 

Storms  also  originate  in  the  equatorial  belt,  and 
issuing  forth  in  great  volume  and  with  great  intensity 
of  action,  find  their  way  up  even  within  the  Arctic 
circle.  Those  which  pass  over  this  continent,  or  the 


210  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

northern  Atlantic,  generally  originate  in  the  West 
Indies,  some  of  them  over  the  Caribbean  Sea,  some 
over  the  islands,  and  some  over  the  open  ocean  to 
the  east  of  them  ;  and,  nearly  all  the  most  violent, 
during  the.  months  of  August,  September,  and  Octo- 
ber. It  would  seem  most  probable  that  the  primary 
action  in  such  cases  was  in  the  trades  themselves, 
but  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  such  is  the  case. 
This  is  the  class  of  storms  of  which  Mr.  Bedfield  has 
industriously  investigated  some  twenty  or  more ; 
Mr.  Espy  some,  and  Lieutenant  Porter  two.  Their 
course,  when  very  violent,  is  often  more  directly 
north  than  that  of  storms,  however  violent,  which 
originate  north  of  the  calms  of  Cancer,  owing,  per- 
haps, to  their  greater  paramagnetic  character.  This 
course  I  have  myself  observed,  in  several  instances, 
about  the  period  of  the  autumnal  equinox — never, 
however,  more  southerly  than  from  S.  W.  to  N.  E., 
on  the  parallel  of  41°,  except  in  three,  and,  perhaps, 
four,  instances,  when  it  has  been  S.  W.  by  S.  to 
N.  E.  by  1ST.  I  know  of  no  class  of  storms  in  re- 
latipn  to  which  the  evidence  of  primary  action  in  the 
counter-trade  is  stronger  than  in  those  of  the  class 
which  originate  on  the  ocean  east  of  the  Windward 
Islands.  But  it  is  not  satisfactory  as  to  them.  Doubt- 
less the  conflict  of  polarities  between  the  passing 
trades  is  sufficient  to  produce  the  showers  and  rains 
which  are  ordinarily  found  over  the  ocean  and  low- 
lands, in  the  equatorial  belt;  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  it  is  sufficient  to  produce  such  extensive, 


THE    WEATHER.  211 

long-continued,  and  violent  action,  as  that  which 
characterizes  the  hurricane  autumnal  gales. 

They  occur,  too,  at  the  time  when  the  whole  ma- 
chinery of  distribution  has  reversed  its  course,  and  is 
rapidly  pursuing  its  journey  south.  It  is  a  period  of 
great  magnetic  disturbance,  over  both  land  and  sea ; 
of  more  active  gales  and  local-increased  precipitation. 
At  the  Magnetic  Observatory  of  Toronto,  Canada 
West,  these  disturbances  are  carefully  and  system- 
atically observed,  and  their  maxima,  or  periods  of 
greatest  disturbance  occur  in  April  and  September. 
(See  Silliman's  Journal,  new  series,  vol.  xvii.  p.  145.) 

The  tendency  to  volcanic  action  is  not  as  great  at 
the  autumnal,  as  at  the  vernal  equinox,  for  the  reason 
that  most  of  the  volcanic  action  of  the  western  hemi- 
sphere develops  itself  now  upon  South  rather  than 
North  America.  But  both  exist,  and  are  active, 
and  what  are  improperly  termed  equinoctial  storms, 
and  gales,  and  rains,  are  proverbial  during,  or  just 
subsequent  to,  both  periods  with  us — as  they  are 
when  the  same  change,  called  the  breaking  up  of  the 
monsoons,  takes  place  in  the  line  of  magnetic  in- 
tensity, over  southern  and  eastern  Asia.  A  volume 
might  be  filled  with  extracts,  showing,  at  least,  most 
remarkable  coincidences  between  violent  volcanic 
action  and  great  atmospheric  disturbance.  Perhaps 
the  increased  fall  of  rain  at  and  after  the  equinoxes, 
in  the  northern  hemisphere,  and  in  certain  localities 
subject  to  volcanic  activity,  is  as  strikingly  illustrated 
by  the  register,  kept  by  Mr.  Johnson,  on  the  volcanic 
Island  of  Kauai,  one  of  the  Hawaiian  group,  already 


212  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

alluded  to,  as  in  any  other  case,  although,  it  is  by  no 
means  a  singular  one.  The  greatest  fall  of  rain,  in 
any  month  except  April  and  October,  was  eight 
inches.  In  April,  the  fall  was  fourteen  inches,  in 
October,  eighteen  inches.  Neither  the  equatorial,  nor 
extra-tropical  belt,  were  over  the  island  during  those 
months ;  but  they  were  the  N.  E.  trades,  and  the  re- 
sult was  owing  solely  to  the  interposition  of  high 
volcanic  mountains,  in  a  state  of  disturbance,  into,  or 
near,  the  strata  of  the  counter-trade.  Mr.  Dobson,  in 
stating  a  theory  to  which  we  shall  hereafter  advert, 
advances  the  following  proposition  : 

"  7.  Cyclones  (hurricanes)  begin  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  active  volcanoes.  The  Mauritius 
cyclones  begin  near  Java;  the  West  Indian,  near 
the  volcanic  series  of  the  Caribbean  Islands ;  those 
of  the.  Bay  of  Bengal,  near  the  volcanic  is]ands  on 
its  eastern  shores;  the  typhoons  of  the  China  Sea, 
near  the  Philippine  Islands,  etc." 

The  peculiar  stormy  state  of  the  atmosphere,  over 
the  Gulf  Stream,  to  which  I  have  alluded,  certainly 
affords  no  evidence  of  primary  atmospheric  action. 
It  is  a  body  of  'south  polar  water,  pursuing  its  way 
under  the  guidance  of  magnetism — maintaining  its 
polarity — arched  somewhat  like  the  roof  of  a  house, 
by  the  outward  pressure  of  a  cold  north  polar  cur- 
rent which  it  has  met  to  the  east  of  the  Banks  of 
Newfoundland,  and  forced  to  take  an  in  shore  course 
to  the  southward,  and  the  bodies  of  water  which  the 
rivers  discharge,  and  a  conflict  with  the  north  polar 
surface-winds  which  sweep  over  it,  and  fogs,  and 


THE    WEATHER.  213 

thunder,  and  rain,  are  a  matter  of  course.  Dr.  Kane 
met  a  portion  of  this  singular  current  in  Baffin's  Bay, 
north  of  75°,  which  had  preserved  its  characteristics 
and  a  considerable  proportionate  excess  of  heat,  al- 
though it  probably  had  been  around  Greenland,  or 
found  its  way  to  the  west,  toward  the  magnetic  pole, 
through  some  of  its  northern  fiords  or  straits.  (Grin- 
nel  Expedition,  p.  120.) 

The  investigations  of  Lieutenant  Maury  show,  that 
when  the  Gulf  Stream  turns  to  the  eastward,  crossing 
the  lines  of  declination  at  right  angles,  as  the 
counter-trades  also  seem  to  do  in  the  same  latitude, 
it  is  carried  up,  in  summer,  several  degrees  to  the  north, 
and  descends  again  in  winter — thus  demonstrating  its 
connection  with  the  shifting  magnetic  machinery 
which  controls  alike  the  ocean,  the  atmosphere,  and 
the  temperature  of  the  earth.* 

There  are  other  irregularities  which  deserve  to  be 
noticed,  in  this  connection,  although  the  analogical 
evidence  they  afford  is  far  from  being  decisive. 

I  have  already  said  that  it  was  within  my  own 
observation,  that  alternating  lines  of  heat  and  cold, 
as  well  as  rain  and  drought,  existed  frequently,  with- 
out regard  to  latitude,  following,  to  some  extent,  the 
course  of  the  counter-trade.  Such  lines  have  been 
observed  by  others. 

Thus,  Mr.  Espy,  after  describing  a  snow-storm, 
which  was  followed  by  a  very  cold  N.  W.  wind,  of 
several  da)7s7  continuance,  says  : 

"  This  cold  air  covered  the  whole  country,  from  Michigan  to  the 
*  See  his  map,  accompanying  tho  Geography  of  the  Sea. 


214  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

eastern  coast  of  the  United  States,  till  the  beginning  of  the  great 
storm  of  the  26th  January;  and,  what  is  worthy  of  particular  notice 
is,  that  the  temperature  began  to  increase  first  in  the  north  and  north- 
west  On  the  morning  of  the  25th,  in  the  north-western  parts  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  northern  parts  of  New  York,  the  thermometer  had 
already  risen  in  some  places  30°,  and,  in  others,  above  40°.  While  in 
the  S.  E.  corner  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  S.  E.  corner  of  New 
York  it  had  not  begun  to  rise.  The  wind  also  began  to  change  from 
the  north-west  to  south  and  south-east,  first  in  the  north-west  parts  of 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  some  time  before  it  commenced  in  the 
south-east  of  those  States ;  and,  during  the  whole  of  the  25th,  tho 
thermometer,  in  the  north  of  New  York,  continued  to  rise,  though 
the  wind  was  blowing  from  the  southward,  where  the  thermometer 
was  many  degrees  lower." 

Thus,  too,  Mr.  Eedfield  (American  Journal  of 
Science,  November,  1846,  p.  329) : 

"  On  the  contrary,  in  times  of  the  greatest  depression  of  the  ther- 
mometer, in  numerous  instances,  the  cold  period  has  been  found  to 
have  first  taken  effect  in,  or  near,  the  tropical  latitudes,  and  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  has  thence  been  propagated  toward  the  eastern  por- 
tions of  the  United  States,  in  a  mannner  corresponding  to  the  ob- 
served progression  of  storms." 

This  was  because  the  cold  N.  W.  wind  which  fol- 
lowed storms  began  to  follow  them  as  the  storms 
curved  and  passed  to  the  N".  E. 

They  occur  in  Europe  also.     Says  Ka'mtz : 

11  Such  contrasts  are  not  uncommon  in  Europe,  and,  in  this  respect, 
the  Alps  form  a  remarkable  limit ;  for  they  separate  the  climates  of 
tho  north  of  Europe  from  the  Mediterranean  climates,  where  the 
distribution  of  rain  is  not  the  same  as  in  the  center  of  Europe. 
Hence  the  differences  between  the  climates  of  the  north  and  south 
of  France.  If  the  winter  is  mild  in  the  north,  the  newspapers  are  filled 
with  the  lamentations  of  the  Italians  and  Provencals  at  the  severity  of 
the  cold:1 

These  facts  seem  to  indicate  a  primary  action  in 
the  counter-trade.  Probably  in  connection  with  one 


THE    WEATHER.  215 

class  of  storms  they  do,  and  with  another  do  not.  I 
shall  endeavor  to  show  the  distinction  when  I  come 
to  the  classification  of  storms. 

The  difference  of  seasons  in  this  country,  and  over 
the  entire  northern  hemisphere,  is  often  very  great, 
In  a  remarkable  work  of  a  remarkable  man — "A 
Brief  Historj-  of  Epidemic  and  Pestilential  Diseases,", 
by  Noah  Webster,  published  in  1799,  2  vols. — a  his- 
tory of  the  weather  for  about  two  centuries — 1600  to 
1799  inclusive,  is  given  generally,  and  then  in  a 
tabular  form.     Those  who  think  that  every  consider- 
able extreme  which  occurs  exceeds  any  thing  before 
known,  will  do  well  to  consult  that  work.     Droughts 
are  described,  where  "  there  was  not  a  drop  of  rain 
for  three  or  four  months,  and  cattle  were  fed  upon 
the  leaves  of  the  trees."     Winters,  so  intensely  cold 
that  the  thermometer  fell    to   20°   below   zero,    at 
Brandy  wine ;  or  so  mild  that  there  was  little  frost, 
and  people  upon   Connecticut    Eiver   plowed  their 
fields,  and  the  peach  trees  blossomed  in  Pennsylvania 
in  February.     These  extremes  generally  existed  in 
Europe  and  America  at  the  same  time,  but  occasion- 
ally they  were  opposite  and  alternate.      Says  Mr. 
Webster,  in  summing  up  the  facts  (vol.  ii. p.  12) :  "It 
is  to  be  observed  that  in  some  cases  a  severe  winter 
extends  to  both  hemispheres,  sometimes  to  one  only, 
and  in  a  few  cases  to  a  part  of  a  hemisphere  only. 
Thus  in  1607-8,  1683-4,  1762-3,  1766-7,  1779-80, 
1783-4,  the  severity  extended  to  both  hemispheres. 
In  1640-41,  1739^0,  and   in   other  instances,  the 
severe  winter  in  Europe  preceded,  by  one  year,  a 


216  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

similar  winter  in  America.  In  a  few  instances, 
severe  frost  takes  place  in  one  hemisphere  during  a 
series  of  mild  winters  in  tke  others ;  but  this  is  less 
common.  In  general,  the  severity  happens  in  both 
hemispheres  at  once,  or  in  two  winters,  in  immedi- 
ate succession ;  and,  as  far  as  this  evidence  has  yet 
•appeared,  this  severity  is  closely  attendant  on  vol- 
canic discharges,  with  very  few  exceptions." 

It  will  be  seen  that  Dr.  Webster  (LL.D.  and  not 
M.D.,  and  therefore  the  remarkable  character  of  the 
work)  attributes  great  influence  to  earthquakes  and 
volcanic  action.  Probably  he  is  correct  in  this. 
The  present  active  volcanic  action  of  the  western 
hemisphere  is  nearly  all  within  the  trade -wind  region, 
from  Mexico  to  Peru  inclusive.  The  West  India 
islands  are  of  volcanic  origin,  and  the  influence  of 
volcanic  action  is  not  confined  to  a  concussion  of  the 
earth,  or  the  eruption  of  mud  and  lava.  Its  connec- 
tion with  magnetic  action,  and  disturbance,  is  un- 
questionable. But  whether  they  operate  to  increase 
or  diminish  the  trades,  and  the  extent  to  which  they 
induce  violent  electric  action  and  storms  within  and 
without  the  tropics,  is  a  question  which  further  ob- 
servation must  determine.  The  ripples  of  the  ocean, 
compared  by  Lieutenant  Banvard  to  that  of  a  u  boil- 
ing cauldron,  or  such  as  is  formed  by  water  being 
forced  from  under  the  gate  of  a  mill-pond,"  are  met 
with  in  the  vicinity  of  volcanic  islands,  where  hurri- 
canes and  water-spouts  originate,  and  have  been  ob- 
served to  precede  storms,  and  be  connected  with  a 
falling  barometer.  But  whether  they  are  volcanic  or 


THE    WEATHEB.  217 

magneto-electric,  it  is  difficult  to  determine.  Dr. 
Webster  remarks,  as  the  result  of  observation,  during 
the  17th  century,  that  earthquakes  had  a  N.  "W.  and 
S.  E.  progression  in  the  United  States,  and  especially 
in  New  England,  In  a  recent  article,  Professor 
Dana  has  examined,  with  great  ability,  the  general 
and  remarkable  trending  of  coast  lines,  groups  of  isl- 
ands, and  ranges  of  mountains,  from  N.  E.  to  S.  "W, 
and  from  IN".  "W.  to  S.  E.  (American  Journal  of  Sci- 
ence, May,  1847.) 

The  line  of  magnetic  intensity,  which  connects 
our  magnetic  pole  with  its  opposite,  is  now  upon  this 
continent  nearly  a  K  W.  and  S.  E.  line,  and  the  pole 
is  fast  traveling  to  the  west.  It  may,  and  probably 
will  yet,  be  established,  that  there  is  an  intimate  con- 
nection between  the  cause  of  volcanic  action  within 
the  earth,  to  which  the  upheaval  of  the  N.  W.  and 
S.  E.,  and  N.  E.  and  S.  W.  ranges  were  due,  and 
of  magnetic  action  without,  and  between  both, 
and  the  cause  of  the  S.  E.  extension  of  our  summer 
storms  and  belts  of  showers  and  barometric  wavesj 
and  the  peculiar  N.  W.  wind.  Our  limits  do  not 
permit  us  to  pursue  the  subject 

Much  influence  upon  the  weather  has  been  attrib- 
uted to  the  spots  upon  the  sun.  These  spots  are 
supposed  to  be  breaks  or  openings  in  the  luminous 
atmosphere  or  photosphere  of  the  sun,  through  which 
its  dark  nucleus  body  is  seen.  Counselor  Schwabe, 
of  Dessau,  has  made  them  his  study  since  1826,  and 
has  arrived  at  some  singular  results.  They  seem  to 
be  numerous— in  groups — and  to  appear  periodically 


218 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


with  minima  and  maxima  of  ten  years.  As  the  re- 
sult of  bis  observations,  from  1826  to  1850,  he  gives 
us  the  following  table  and  remarks : 


Year. 

Group*. 

Days  showing 

no  spots. 

Dayu  of  Ob- 
servation. 

1826 

118 

22 

277 

1827 

161 

2 

273 

1828 

225 

0 

282 

1829 

199 

0 

244 

1830 

190 

} 

217 

1831 

149 

3 

239 

1832 

84 

49 

270 

1833 

33 

139 

267 

1834 

51 

120 

273 

1835 

173 

18 

244 

1836 

272 

0 

200 

1837 

333 

0 

168 

1838 

282 

0 

202 

1839 

162 

0 

205 

1840 

152 

3 

263 

1841 

102 

15 

283 

1842 

68 

64 

307 

1843 

34 

149 

312 

1844 

52 

111 

321 

1845 

114 

29 

332 

1846 

157 

1 

314 

1847 

257 

0 

276 

1848 

330 

0 

278 

1849 

238 

0 

285 

1850 

186 

2 

308 

11 1  observed  large  spots,  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  in  almost  all  the 
years  not  characterized  by  the  minimum;  the  largest  appeared  in 
1828,  1829,  1831,  1836,  1837,  1838,  1839,  1847,  1848.  I  regard  all 
spots,  whose  diameter  exceeds  50",  as  large,  and  it  is  only  when  of 
such  a  size  that  they  begin  to  be  visible  to  even  the  keenest  unaided 
sight. 

"  The  spots  are,  undoubtedly,  closely  connected  with  the  formation 
of  faculae,  for  I  have  often  observed  faculse,  or  narben,  formed  at  the 
same  points  from  whence  the  spots  had  disappeared,  while  new  solar 
spots  were  also  developed  within  the  faculae.  Every  spot  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  more  or  less  bright,  luminous  cloud.  I  do  not  think 
that  the  spots  exert  any  influence  on  the  annual  temperature.  I 
register  the  height  of  the  barometer  and  thermometer  three  times  in 
the  course  of  each  day,  but  the  annual  mean  numbers  deduced  from 
their  observations  have  not  hitherto  indicated  any  appreciable  con- 
nection between  the  temperature  and  the  number  of  the  spots.  Nor, 
indeed,  would  any  importance  be  due  to  the  apparent  indication  of 
such  a  connection  in  individual  cases,  unless  the  results  were  found 


THE    WEATHER.  219 

to  correspond  with  others  derived  from  many  different  parts  of  the 
earth.  If  the  solar  spots  exert  any  slight  influence  on  our  atmos- 
phere, my  tables  would,  perhaps,  rather  tend  to  show  that  the  years 
which  exhibit  a  larger  number  of  spots  had  a  smaller  number  of  fine 
days  than  those  exhibiting  few  spots." 

These  observations  seem  to  show  that  the  spots 
exert  no  influence  upon  the  weather,  and  to  be  satis- 
factory. But,  perhaps,  they  are  not  entirely  so.  No 
effect  would,  of  course,  be  expected  from  day  to  day, 
and  perhaps  the  annual  mean  may  not  be  seriously 
disturbed,  and  yet  the  spots  may  seriously  affect  the 
seasons.  Popular  tradition  has  fixed  upon  certain  peri- 
ods, of  10,  20,  and  40  years,  for  the  return  of  winters  of 
unusual  severity ;  and  the  tables  of  Mr.  "Webster,  and 
other  facts,  show  that  it  is  not  wholly  without  founda- 
tion. If  we,  and  those  we  have  cited,  are  not  mis- 
taken in  most  of  the  views  expressed,  the  natural 
effect  of  a  partial  interception  or  failure  of  the  sun's 
rays,  by  or  from  the  existence  of  the. spots,  would  be 
to  decrease  the  exciting  power  of  the  solar  rays  upon 
terrestrial  magnetism,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the 
volume  of  the  trades  and  their  amount  of  moisture. 
This  would  increase  the  mean  heat  of  the  summer  in 
the  temperate  zone — for  the  less  the  volume  of  trade, 
the  less  precipitation  and  variable  wind,  and  succeeding 
polar  waves  of  cooler  air,  and  the  greater  mean  heat. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  same  cause,  and  the  feebler 
heating  power  of  the  sun's  rays,  would  make  the 
winters  more  severe,  both  from  an  absence  of  a  por- 
tion of  heat,  derived  directly  from  the  sun's  rays,  and 
a  less  mitigating  influence,  from  the  action  of  the 
trade,  by  reason  of  its  decreased  volume.  So,  too, 
the  absence  of  spots,  and  a  more  powerful  influence 


220  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

from  the  solar  rays,  may  gradually  carry  the  machin- 
ery further  north  in  summer,  and  farther  south  in 
winter,  and  thus  make  the  seasons  extreme  without 
seriously  disturbing  the  mean  of  the  year.  And 
both  these  may  occur  in  a  more  marked  degree  over 
our  intense  magnetic  area  than  in  Europe.  I  am  satis- 
fied that  they  do  so  occur.  That  the  partial  failure  of 
the  sun's  rays  limits  the  transit  of  the  machinery, 
and  the  volume  of  the  trades  during  the  latter  half  of 
the  decade,  and  extends  the  transit  and  increases  the 
volume  during  the  first  half,  producing  an  occasional 
severe  summer  drought  and  severe  winter,  in  the 
warmest  portion  of  the  decade.  And  that  the  varia- 
tions correspond  with  the  difference  in  the  character 
and  number  of  the  spots  in  different  decades,  and 
hence  the  longer  and  shorter  periods. 

Turning  to  the  tables  of  Dr.  Webster,  we  find 
that  a  general  tendency  to  extreme  seasons  does  seem 
to  exist  from  the  6th  to  the  10th  year  of  every  de- 
cade, and  especially  of  every  alternate  decade.  The 
periods  of  1707-8,  1728,  1737  and  1739,  1749-50, 
1758-9,  1779-80,  1798-9,  are  those  in  which  the 
tendency  was  seen  most  decided.  These  tables  are 
very  general.  The  thermometer  was  not  perfected 
till  about  1700,  and  did  not  get  into  general  use  be- 
before  1750.  There  were  very  few  meteorological 
registers  kept,  or  accessible  to  Dr.  Webster.  Hence 
he  was  obliged  to  resort  to  such  other  sources  of  in- 
formation as  were  open  to  him,  and  such  statements 
as  he  found  are  not  always  entirely  reliable.  The 
oldest  inhabitant  is  apt  to  express  himself  very 
strongly  respecting  present  extremes,  and  fail  some- 


THE    WEATHER. 


221 


what  in  his  recollection  of  those  which  have  past. 
Still  his  tables  afford  general  and  obvious  evidence 
of  the  regularity  of  those  periodic  conditions. 


A.D. 

Summer. 

Winter.             JA.  D.             Summer. 

Winter 

1701 

hot  and  dry 

'1751  wet  England 

severe  Amer. 

1702  hot  and  dry 

.... 

;1752|very  hot  Amer. 

1703 

.... 

1753 

severe 

1704  dry  Europe 

1754 

mild  Amer. 

1705 

.... 

«... 

il755 

severe  Europe 

1706  hot,  dry  Europe 
1707  very  hot 

.... 

1756 
1757 

severe  Syria 

.... 

very  severe 

1758  hot 

.... 

1709 

1759 

severe 

1710 

1760 

1711 
1712  wet  England 
1713  wet  England 

cold  Europe 
mild 

|1761  very  dry  Arner. 
1762  very  dry  Amer. 
1763! 

severe 

1714  drv  and"  hot 
1715  dry 
I7>6  very  dry 

severe 
severe 

1764  hot  Europe 
1765  hot  Europe 
1766  hot  and  dry  Eur. 
11767 

severe  Europe 
very  severe 
cold 

1713  hot  and  wet 

1768  hot 

.... 

1719 

cold  America 

1769  hot 

.... 

1720  dry  Europe 
1721  i 

1770  wet  England 
1771  wet  Am.  &  Eng. 

cold  Europe 

1722  cold,  wet 

1772  hot  America 

Am.,  great  snow 

1723 

cold 

1773 

.... 

1724  wet  England 

1774 

severe  Europe 

1725 

wet  England 

1775 

.... 

17261            .7.. 

1727  drv,  hot  Amer. 

1776  hot 

1777! 

severe  Europe 

1728 

hot  Amer. 

severe  Europe 

1778  hot 

mild 

17291 
1780 

1731  j 

.... 

very  cold  Eng. 

1779  hot  Eng. 

17801 
1781 

very  sever© 

1732 

severe  Atner. 

1782'dry  Amer 

1733  dry  Eng. 

1788  hot 

very  severe 

1734 

•  •  •  • 

.... 

1784  hot 

1735  wet 

!...' 

1785  dry  Europe          cold 

1736 

wet 

1786  cool                       cold 

1737; 

.... 

very  severe  Am.  1787  cool 

1738 
1739  wet  England 
1740 

very  severe  Eng. 
very  severe  Am. 

1783  rainy  Amer. 
1789  cool  spring,  hot 
summer 

cold 
severe  Eur.,  inild 
Amer. 

1741 

.... 

1790 

1742! 

severe  Syria 

1791;  very  hot  Am. 

cold 

1743 

hot 

1792 

'. 

1744 

.... 

1793  hot,  dry  Am. 

mild  Amer. 

1745 

.  .  .  • 

1794 

severe  Europe 

1746 
1747  hot  and  dry 
1748  dry 
1749  very  dry 
1750  very  hot 

severe 
very  severe 

1795  Amer.,  hot,  rainy 
1796  Autumn  ver.  drv 
1797  'cool  Am.      [Am. 
1193  very  hot          J 
1799  i  very  dry  Am.  ) 

cold  Amer. 
severe  Amer. 
)  long  «fe  severe 
<  Amer.  &  Eur. 

Still  more  definite  evidence  is  found  in  the  meteor- 
ological tables  of  Dr.  Holyoke  and  Dr.  Hildreth,  and 


222  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

an  account,  by  Dr.  Hildreth,  of  the  seasons  when  the 
Ohio  Eiver  was  closed  or  obstructed  by  ice,  found 
in  Silliman's  Journal,  new  series,  vol.  xiii.  p.  238. 

Thus,  we  have,  from  the  tables  of  Dr.  Holyoke, 
the  following  annual  means,  from  1786  to  1825,  in- 
clusive. I  have  arranged  them  in  periods  of  five 
years.  It  will  be  seen  that  there  are  three  peculiar- 
ities observable.  First,  a  marked  difference  between 
the  first  and  second  periods  of  the  decade,  corre- 
sponding, generally,  with  the  presence  or  absence  of 
the  spots.  Second,  a  difference  in  the  mean  of  the 
decades  which  may  well  be  supposed  to  correspond 
with  the  difference  in  the  number  or  size  of  the  spots 
since  a  like  difference  is  observable  in  number  and 
size,  and  the  time  when  they  reached  their  maxima 
and  minima,  in  the  table  of  Schwabe.  And,  third, 
there  are  occasional  single  cold  years  during  the 
warm  period,  and  these  correspond  with  what  the 
tables  of  Dr.  Webster  show  for  both  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries.  In  relation  to  this,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  volcanic  action  is  a  fre- 
quent and  powerful  disturber  of  the  regular  action  of 
terrestrial  magnetism,  and  that  the  extremes,  for  that 
reason,  are  frequently  meridional  or  local  and  alternat- 
ing ;  and  to  that  cause  very  great  extremes,  and  mark- 
ed exceptions,  may  be  due,  notwithstanding  the  spots 
upon  the  sun  may  exert  an  influence  in  producing 
hot  summers  and  cold  winters  toward  the  close  of  each 
decade.  Thus,  to  select  an  instance  to  illustrate  this 
and  explain  an  anomaly :  The  coldest  season  during 
the  whole  period,  embraced  in  the  following  tables, 
is  that  of  1812.  This  occurs  during  the  decrease  of 


THE    TTEATHEtt,  223 

spots,  and  the  warm  half  of  the  decade.  Turning  to 
the  table  of  volcanic  action,  and  of  earthquakes,  found 
in  the  Report  of  the  British  Association  for  1854,  we 
find  that  year  was  remarkable  for  earthquakes  in  the 
United  States  and  South.  America.  .In  December, 
1811,  eaithquakes  commenced  in  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  Ohio,  and  Arkansas,  felt  also  at  places  in 
Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Missouri,  Indiana,  Virginia, 
North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Florida, 
though  not  so  severely  east  of  the  Alleghanies, 
which  continued  until  1813.  About  the  same  time 
they  commenced,  in  Caraccas,  and,  in  March,  1812,  be- 
became  severe  over  the  greater  portion  of  the  northern 
section  of  South  America,  and  in  the  Atlantic.  No 
such  general  and  continued  succession  of  earthquakes 
occurred  during  the  other  periods  embraced  in  the 
tables,  and  the  mean  of  the  following  five  years  was  very 
low,  embracing  the  memorable  cold  summer  of  1816. 


Cold  Period.                         Warm  PenoL                Cold 

Period.                Warm 

Period. 

1736 

..  4S°.53  !1T91... 

...48°.9631796... 
...480.44  11797... 
...50°.96    1793... 
...50°.7&31799... 
...50°.173  1800... 

...48°.6781801... 
...43°.1351S02.... 
...49°.471J1803.... 
..  4S°.291  1804.... 
...490.989J1806.... 

..50°.432 
..50°.794 
..50°.24 

..48°.32S 
.  .50°.792 

1757 

..47°.88  J1792... 
47°.  676  1793     . 

1788 

17S9  
1790     

...47°.63    1794... 
...46°.53    1795... 

Mean  of  period. 

...47°.659Mean.. 

...4»°.90l'Mean.. 

...4S°.910Mean... 

..50M17 

1806... 

| 
..47°.9S21811     . 

..50°  76  J1S16... 

...47°.113  1821... 

..48°.15 
.  .49  '.81 
.  .47°.53 
.  .49°.25 
.  .50°.99 

1307  . 

.  .  43°.132  1812 

45°  23    1817 

...46°.277  1S22.... 
...48°.009;i823.... 
...50°.75    1324.... 
...4S°.70    1S25.... 

49=435  1318 

...47°.7021818... 
...43°.279  1519... 
...47°.607|1820... 

15'  '9... 
1>10        

...47°.9'3    1S14... 
..493.001  1515... 

Mean.... 

48°.505Mean 

....47°.926;Mean.. 

....48°.169Mean... 

..49M5 

The  tables  of  Dr.  Hildreth,  from  1826  to  1854,  in- 
elusive,  furnish,  generally,  evidence  of  a  like  charac- 
ter. There  are,  however,  an  anomaly  or  two  which 


224  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


be  observed.  From  1826  to  1830,  the  mean  is 
high  during  the  period  when  spots  were  at  a  maxi- 
mum. But  that  maximum  embraced  a  much  less  num- 
ber of  spots  than  the  two  succeeding  ones.  A  contrast 
appears  in  the  tables  of  Dr.  Hildreth,  during  the 
early  period,  for  Dr.  Hoi  joke's  register,  for  1827,  puts 
it  l>dow  the  mean,  but  Dr.  Hildreth's  one  of  the  highest 
of  the  half  century.  In  1835  commenced  a  period 
when  the  spots  were  much  more  numerous,  and  from 
1835  to  1838,  inclusive,  the  seasons  were  correspond- 
ingly below  the  mean.  From  that  period  to  1844  a 
gradual  and  slightly  irregular  rise  took  place,  except- 
ing the  year  1843,  when  another  cold  year  interven- 
ed. The  table  of  earthquakes,  published  by  the 
British  Association,  closes  with  1842,  and  I  have  not 
access  to  any  others.  The  occurrence  of  such  cold 
years,  in  the  warm  period,  at  intervals  during  tho 
two  centuries  previous,  and  in  1812,  and  onward, 
and  evidently  owing  to  increased  volcanic  action  be- 
neath the  western  portion  of  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere, justifies  the  belief  that  the  low  temperature 
of  1843  was  owing  to  the  same  cause.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  means  from  tables  of  Dr.  Hildreth  : 


1826 54°.00  1831 50°.8T  1S3G 50°.OS  1S41 52°.1&  1846 53°.64 

1827 54°.92  1832 52°.42|l837 51°.57il842 52°.83  1847 52°.00 

1828 55°.22;1833 54°.56;1838 50°.62  1843 50°.77  1848 52°.50 

1829 52°.3SJ1834 52°.4o!l839 52°.54:1844 58°.25  1849 52°.09 

1880 54°.93  1835 50°.65  1840 52°.351845 52°.73  1S50 51°.4S 


Mean. . ..64°.29|Mean. . . .52°.18;Mean. . . .51°.52'Mean.. .  .52°.35  Mean. .. .52°.32 


The  observations  of  Dr.  Holyoke  were  made  at 
Salem,  Massachusetts ;  those  of  Dr.  Hildreth  at 
Marietta,  Ohio. 

The  following,  in  relation  to  the  freezing  of  the 


THE    TTEATHER.  225 

Ohio  River,  is  evidence  of  a  different  kind,  but  shows 
the  same  general  correspondence,  and  particularly 
the  mildness  of  the  winters  when  there  were  few  spots,  and 
their  severity  from  1836  to  1838,  inclusive,  when  the 
spots  were  most  numerous : 

1829. — River  open  all  winter — some  floating  ice. 

1830.— River  closed  27th  January. 

1831. — Floating  ice — closed  23d  January — opened  20th  February. 

1832. — Closed  in  December,  which  was  a  very  cold  month— opened 
January  8,  and  remained  open  all  winter. 

1833.— Open  all  winter. 

1834. — Open  all  winter. 

1835. — Closed  January  6 — open  d  the  last  of  the  month — coW. 

1836. — Closed  28th  January — opened  25th  February. 

1837. — Closed  from  8th  December  to  8th  February.     Cold  year. 

1838. — Closed  from  13th  January  to  13th  March.     Cold  year. 

1839. — Closed  from  Gth  December  to  13th  January. 

1840.— Closed  29th  December— opened  loth  January. 

1841. — Closed  3d  January — opened  8th  do. 

1842.— Open  all  winter. 

1843. — Closed   28th  November — opened  5th  December — open  nil 
the  rest  of  the  winter. 

1844. — Open  all  winter. 

1845. — Open  all  winter. 

1846. — Closed  5th  December — opened  again  a  few  days — closed 
again  on  the  26th.     It  is  not  stated  how  long  it  remained  closed. 

1847.— Open  all  winter. 

1848. — Much  floating  ice,  but  not  closed — heavy  rains  and  Hoods. 

1849. — Floating  ice  in  January,  but  not  closed. 

1850. — Floating  ice,  but  not  closed. 

1851. — Open  all  winter — a  little  ice. 

(December  in  the  above  table,  means  December  previous). 

This  is  more  reliable  as  to  the  winter  season  than 
the  tables  of  annual  means — although  the  evidence 
they  afford,  making  due  allowance  for  the  exceptions, 
is  very  striking. 

I  shall  return  to  this  part  of  the  subject  again. 

But  there  is  other  evidence  of  the  influence  of 
these  spots,  Their  connection  with  the  irregular 


226  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

magnetic  disturbance  of  the  earth  has  been  distinctly 
traced.  Colonel  Sabine,  President  of  the  British 
Association,  in  his  opening  address,  September,  1852, 
after  reviewing  the  recent  discoveries  in  magnetism, 

says :— 

• 

"  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  this  periodical  magnetic  varia- 
tion is  found  to  be  identical  in  period,  and  in  epochs  of  maxima  and 
minima,  with  the  periodical  variation  in  the  frequency  and  magnitude 
of  the  solar  spots,  which  M.  Schwabe  has  established  by  twenty-six 
years  of  unremitting  labor.  From  a  cosmical  connection  of  this 
nature,  supposing  it  to  be  finally  established,  it  would  follow  that 
the  decennial  period,  which  we  measure  by  our  magnetic  instrument, 
is,  in  fact,  a  solar  period,  manifested  to  us,  also,  by  the  alternately 
increasing  and  decreasing  frequency  and  magnitude  of  observations 
on  the  surface  of  the  solar  disc.  May  we  not  have  in  these  pheno- 
mena the  indication  of  a  cycle,  or  period  of  secular  change  in  the  mag- 
netism of  the  sun,  affecting  visibly  his  gaseous  atmosphere  or  pho- 
tosphere, and  sensibly  modifying  the  magnetic  influence  which  he 
exercises  on  the  surface  of  our  earth?" — American  Journal  of  Science, 
new  series,  vol.  xiv.  p.  438.  . 

I  think  it  may  fairly  be  inferred,  that  although 
these  spots  do  not  occasion  the  "cold  spells"  and 
"hot  spells,"  and  other  transient  peculiarities,  they  do 
materially  affect  the  mean  temperature  of  the  year, 
and  exert  an  obvious  influence  when  at  their  maxi- 
ma ;  and  there  is  a  tendency  to  an  increase  of  the  heat 
and  dryness  of  summer,  and  the  severity  of  winter, 
at  the  periods  named,  in  our  excessive  climate,  and  a 
well-established  connection  between  the  spots  and 
magnetic  disturbances  and  variations. 

Popular  opinion  has  ever  attributed  to  the  moon  a 
controlling  effect  upon  the  changes  of  the  weather. 
If  it  be  dry,  a  storm  is  expected  when  the  moon 
changes ;  or  if  it  be  wet,  dry  weather.  Such  popular 


THE    WEATHER.  227 

opinions  are  usually  entitled  to  respect,  and  founded 
in  truth.  But  every  attempt  to  verify  this  opinion, 
by  careful  observation  and  registration,  has  failed. 
Weather-tables  and  lunar  phases,  compared  for 
nearly  one  hundred  years,  show  four  hundred  and 
ninety-one  new  or  full  moons  attended  by  a  change 
of  the  weather,  and  five  hundred  and  nine  without 
The  celebrated  Olbers,  after  fifty  years  of  careful  ob- 
servation and  comparison,  decided  against  it.  So  did 
the  more  celebrated  Arago,  at  a  more  recent  date — 
summing  up  the  result  of  his  observations  by  saying 
— "  Whatever  the  progress  of  the  sciences,  never  will 
observers,  who  are  trustworthy  and  careful  of  their 
reputation,  venture  to  foretell  the  state  of  the  weather." 
Still,  the  moon  may  influence  the  weather,  though 
she  may  not  effect  changes  at  her  syzygies  or  quad- 
ratures, and  this  subject  should  not  be  too  summarily 
dismissed.  That  the  moon  can  not  effect  changes  at 
the  periods  named  seems  philosophically  obvious. 
She  changes,  for  the  whole  earth,  within  the  period  of 
twenty-four  hours;  yet,  how  varied  the  state  of 
things  on  different  portions  of  its  surface.  The  equa- 
torial belts  of  trades,  and  drought,  and  rains,  cover 
from  fifty  to  sixty  degrees  of  its  surface,  and  know 
nothing  of  lunar  disturbance.  The  extra-tropical 
belt  of  rains  and  variable  weather  moves  up  in  its 
season,  uncovering  10°,  or  more,  of  latitude,  and  ad- 
mitting the  trades  and  a  six  months'  drought  over  it, 
as  in  California,  regardless  of  the  moon.  Under  the 
zone  of  extra-tropical  rains,  even  upon  the  eastern 
part  of  the  continent  of  North  America,  "dry  spells" 


228  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

and  "  wet  spells"  exist  side  by  side ;  the  focus  of 
precipitation  is  now  in  one  parallel,  and  now  in 
another — storms  exist  here  and  fair  weather  there,  on 
the  same  continent  at  the  same  time;  and  as  the 
moon's  rays  in  her  northing  pass  round  the  north- 
ern hemisphere  during  the  twenty-four  hours,  they, 
doubtless*,  pass  from  ten  to  thirty  or  more  storms,  of 
all  characters  and  intensities,  moving  in  opposition 
to  her  orbit — and  as  many  larger  intervening  areas 
of  fair  weather,  not  one  of  which  are  indebted  to  her 
ibr  their  existence,  or  "  take  thought  of  her  coming." 
The  storm,  which  originates  in  the  tropics,  pursues 
its  curving  way  now  1ST.  W.,  then  K  E.,  and  again 
north,  to  the  Arctic  circle,  and,  perhaps,  around  the 
magnetic  pole,  over  gulf,  and  continent,  and  ocean, 
occupying  one  third  the  time  of  a  lunation,  and  two 
changes,  perhaps,  in  its  progress,  without  any  percept- 
ible or  conceivable  influence  from  her.  Yet  every 
inhabitant  of  mother-earth,  influenced  by  coincidences 
remembered,  and  uninfluenced  by  exceptions  forgotten, 
looks  up  within  his  limited  horizon,  and  devoutly 
expects  from  the  agency  of  some  phase  of  the  moon, 
a  change  for  the  special  benefit  of  his  dot  upon  the 
earth's  surface.  Upon  how  many  of  these  count- 
less dots  is  the  moon  at  a  particular  phase,  or  rela- 
tive distance  from  the  sun,  to  change  fair  weather 
to  foul,  or  foul  to  fair  ?  Upon  none.  The  storms 
keep  on  their  way; — the  wet  spells,  and  the  dry 
spells,  the  cold  and  the  hot  spells  alternate  in  their 
time,  and  though  the  moon  turns  toward  them  in 
passing,  her  dark  face,  her  half  face,  or  her  full  orb  (the 


THE    WEATHER.  229 

gifts  of  the  sun,  -which,  confer  no  power),  they  do  not 
heed  her.  They  are  originated,  and  are  continued, 
by  a  more  potent  agent.  They  are  the  work  of  an 
atmospheric  mechanism,  as  ceaseless  in  its  operation 
as  time,  as  regular  as  the  seasons,  as  extensive  as  the 
globe. 

Indeed,  it  seems  as  if  it  was  expressly  designed  by 
the  Creator  that  the  moon  should  not  interfere  ma- 
terially with  this  atmospheric  machinery.     She  is  the 
nearest  orb ;  her  influence  would  be  controlling  and 
continuous;  would  follow  her  monthly  path   from 
south  to  north,  and  with  changes  too  violent,  and 
intervals  too  long ;  and  would  interfere  with  the  reg- 
ular fundamental  operation  in  the  trade-wind  region, 
where  she  is  vertical.     Aside  from  the  attraction  of 
gravitation,   therefore,   she  seems  to  have  been  so 
created  as  to  be  incapable  of  exerting  any  influence. 
She  is  without  an  atmosphere ;  the  rays  which  she 
reflects  are  polarized,  and  without  chemical  or  mag- 
netic power ;  and,  if  it  be  true  that  Melloni  has  re- 
cently detected  heat  in  them,  by  the  use  of  a  lens 
three  feet  in  diameter,  which  could  not  previously 
be  effected,  its  quantity  is  exceedingly  small,  and  in- 
capable of  influence.     Doubtless,  the  attraction  of 
her  mass  is  felt  upon  the  earth,  as  the  tides  attest  ; 
and  upon  the  atmosphere  as  well  as  the  ocean.    But 
the  atmosphere  is  comparatively  attenuated,  and  ex- 
ceedingly so  at  its  upper  surface.     Her  attraction, 
therefore,  although  felt,  is  not  influential.     She  seem- 
ed, to  Dr.  Howard,  to  produce  in  her  northing  and 
southing,  a  lateral  tide  which  the  barometer  disclosed, 


230  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

but  owing  to  the  attenuated  character  of  the  atmos« 
phere,  neither  the  sun  nor  moon  create  an  easterly 
and  westerly  tide,  that  is  observable,  except  with  the 
most  delicate  instruments.  Sabine  is  believed  to  have 
detected  such  a  tide  by  the  barometer,  at  St.  Helena, 
of  one  four  thousandth  of  an  inch.  But  even  this 
infinitesimal  influence  may  prove  an  error  upon  further 
investigation.  There  is  a  diurnal  variation  of  the 
barometer,  but  it  is  not  the  result  of  her  attraction, 
for  it  is  not  later  each  day  as  are  the  tides,  exists  in 
the  deepest  mines  as  well  as  upon  the  surface,  and  is 
demonstrably  connected  with  the  group  of  diurnal 
changes  produced  by  the  action  of  the  sun-light  and 
heat  upon  the  earth's  magnetism. 

Can  the  lateral  tide,  if  there  be  one,  affect  the 
weather?  for  in  the  present  state  of  science  it  seems 
entirely  certain  that  the  moon  can  exert  an  influence 
in  no  other  way. 

If  the  received  idea  of  many,  perhaps  most,  meteor- 
ologists, on  which  all  wheel  barometers  are  con- 
structed, that  a  high  barometer  necessarily  produces 
fair  weather,  and  a  low  one  foul,  were  true,  she  certain- 
ly might  do  so.  But  that  idea  can  not  be  sustained, 
and  there  is  no  known  certain  influence  exerted  by 
the  moon  upon  the  weather,  in  relation  to  which  we 
have  any  reliable  practical  data. 

Humboldt  appears  to  have  adopted  the  impression 
of  Sir  W.  Herschell,  that  the  moon  aids  in  the  dis- 
persion of  the  clouds.  (Cosmos,  vol.  iv.  p.  502.)  But 
the  tendency  to  such  dispersion  is  always  rapid  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  the  day  and  evening,  when 


THE    WEATHER.  231 

there  is  no  storm  approaching,  and  the  full  moon 
renders  their  dissolution  visible,  and  attracts  attention 
to  them.  The  Greenwich  observations,  also,  carefully 
examined  by  Professor  Loomis,  fail  to  confirm  the 
impression  of  Herschell  and  Humboldt,  and  those 
eminent  philosophers  are  doubtless  in  this  mistaken. 
From  this  general  and  somewhat  desultory  view 
of  the  general  facts,  which  bear  analogically  upon  the 
question,  no  decisive  inference  can  be  drawn  in  re- 
lation to  the  seat  of  the  primary  influence  which  pro- 
duces the  atmospheric  changes.  The  preponderance 
is  in  favor  of  the  magnetic,  or  magneto-electric,  ac- 
tion of  the  earth.  We  must  come  back  to  our  own 
country  and  grapple  with  the  question  at  home. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

BEFORE  proceeding  to  do  this,  however,  it  may  bo 
well  to  look  at  some  theories  which  have  been  ad- 
vanced, and  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  adopted,  and 
at  their  bearing  upon  the  question. 

The  calorific  theory  is  at  present  the  prevailing  ono 
in  Europe  and  in  this  country.  Meteorologists  thero 
and  here  refer  all  atmospheric  conditions  and  phe- 
nomena to  the  influence  of  heat.  The  principal 
applications  of  that  theory  have  been  considered. 
But  within  the  last  few  years  the  elasticity  and  tension 
of  the  aqueous  vapor  of  the  atmosphere  have  re- 
ceived much  attention,  as  exerting  an  auxiliary  or 
modifying  influence.  Professor  Dove,  of  Berlin,  who 
ranks  perhaps  as  the  most  distinguished  meteorolo- 
gist of  that  continent,  attributes  barometric  variations 
to  lateral  overflows,  and,  in  the  upper  regions,  result- 
ing from  the  elevation  of  the  atmosphere  by  expan- 
sion ;  and  in  this  view  meteorologists  of  Europe  seem 
generally  to  acquiesce.  In  an  article  sent  to  Colonel 
Sabine,  and  recently  republished  in  the  American 
Journal  of  Science,  January,  1855,  in  thus  attempt- 
ing to  account  for  the  annual  variation  of  barometric 
pressure,  which  occurs  in  Europe  and  Asia,  and,  in- 
deed, over  the  entire  hemisphere.  He  says : 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    THE    WEATHER.      233 

"From  the  combined  action  of  the  variations  of  aqueous  vapor,  and 
of  the  dry  air,  -we  derive  immediately  the  periodical  variations  of 
the  whole  atmospheric  pressure.  As  the  dry  air  and  the  aqueous 
vapor  mixed  with  it,  press  in  common  on  the  barometer,  so  that  tho 
up-borne  column  of  mercury  consists  of  two  parts,  one  borne  by  the 
dry  air,  the  other  by  the  aqueous  vapor,  we  may  well  understand  that 
as  with  increasing  temperature  the  air  expands,  and  by  reason  of  its 
augmented  volume  rises  higher,  and  its  upper  portion  overflows  later' 
ally,"  etc. 

And  in  another  place  lie  sa js : 

"  From  tho  magnitude  of  the  variations  in  the  northern  hemisphere, 
and  the  extent  of  the  region  over  which  it  prevails,  we  must  infer 
that  at  the  time  of  diminished  pressure  a  lateral  overflow  probably  takes 
place,"  etc. 

Doubtless,  the  mean  pressure  of  the  atmosphere, 
in  summer,  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  is  less  than 
in  winter,  in  some  localities,  and  greater  in  others, 
and  it  differs  in  different  countries  of  equal  tempera- 
ture. And  this  is  all  very  intelligible.  The  mean 
of  the  pressure  for  the  month  is  made  up  bj  averag- 
ing all  the  elevations  and  depressions.  During  a  month, 
showing  a  very  low  mean,  the  barometer  may,  at 
times,  attain  its  highest  altitude,  if  the  depressions  be- 
low the  mean  are  great  or  more  frequent.  The 
barometer  is  depressed  during  storms,  and  ranges 
high  during  set  fair  weather.  Ordinarily,  therefore, 
the  more  stormy  the  season  the  more  diminished  the 
mean  pressure ;  and  it  is  a  mistake  to  look  to  an 
overflow  to  account  for  the  fact.  The  changes 
in  the  location  of  the  atmospheric  machinery,  and 
conbjquent  change  in  the  amount  and  severity 
of  falling  weather,  and  the  periodic  frequency  and 
character  of  storms,  and  consequent  periodic  depres- 


234  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

sions  and  elevations  of  the  barometer,  explain  the 
annual  mean  variations,  as  they  do  the  other  pheno- 
mena. But  it  is  perfectly  consistent  with  the  calorific 
theory  to  attempt  to  account  for  these  differences  by 
another  of  those  ever-necessary  modifications,  viz. : 
the  different  tension  and  elasticity  of  aqueous  vapor 
in  different  countries  of  equal  temperature ;  and  then 
to  suppose  an  expansion  of  the  whole  body  of  the  at- 
mosphere and  a  lateral  overflow  from  the  place  where 
the  air  is  expanded,  on  to  some  other,  where  it  is  not ; 
and  thus  suppose  all  necessary  currents  in  the  upper 
regions,  setting  hither  and  yon,  by  the  force  of  gravity 
alone.  And  apparently  he  who  is  best  at  supposi- 
tion becomes  the  most  distinguished  meteorologist. 
Perhaps  I  have  already  said  all  that  I  ought  to  be 
pardoned  for  saying,  in  relation  to  the  utter  absurd- 
ity of  attributing  all  meteorological  phenomena  to 
the  agency  of  heat ;  but  when  I  find  such  views  as 
those  which  that  article  contains,  emanating  from  so 
distinguished  a  man,  sanctioned  by  the  President  of 
the  British  Association,  and  copied  into  the  leading 
journal  of  science  in  this  country,  I  can  not  forbear 
a  further  and  a  somewhat  critical  examination  of  them. 
There  is  more  error  of  supposition  and  less  truth  in  it, 
than  in  any  other  article  regarding  the  science,  of  equal 
length,  which  has  fallen  under  my  notice. 

"What  is  the  height  of  this  expansion  ?  The  moisture 
of  evaporation  ascends,  ordinarily,  but  a  few  thousand 
feet.  The  atmosphere  grows  regularly  cooler,  from 
the  earth  to  the  trade,  and  the  increased  warmth  that  is 
felt  at  the  surface  extends  but  little  way.  Currents  of 


THE    WEATHER.  235 

warm  air  do  not  ascend.  The  strata  maintain,  sub- 
stantially, their  relative  positions ;  and  this  is  a  most 
beneficent  provision.  In  northern  latitudes  of  the 
temperate  zone,  all  the  warmth  derived  from  a  few 
hours'  sunshine  is  needed  at  the  surface ;  and,  de- 
plorable, indeed,  would  be  our  condition,  if  the  at- 
mosphere, as  fast  as  warmed  by  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
were  to  hasten  up,  and  the  frigid  strata  descend  in 
its  place.  The  earth  would  not  be  habitable.  All 
the  warm  air  on  its  surface  would  be  rising  as  soon 
as  it  became  warmed,  and  the  cold  air  above  be 
descending,  and  enveloping  us  with  the  chilling  strata 
which  are  ever  floating  within  two  or  three  miles 
above  us.  No.  Infinite  wisdom  has  ordered  it 
otherwise.  The  laws  of  magnetism  and  of  static- 
electric  induction  and  attraction  keep  the  strata  in 
their  places,  and  preserve  to  us  the  warmth  which 
the  solar  rays  afford  or  produce.  The  inhabitant  of 
the  valley,  in  a  high  northern  latitude,  in  summer, 
can  plant,  and  'sow,  and  reap,  at  the  base  of  the 
mountain  whose  summit  penetrates  the  stratum  of 
continual  congelation,  and  up  its  sides,  almost  to  the 
line  of  perpetual  snow ;  and,  as  he  looks  upon  the 
fruits  of  his  labor,  and  up  to  the  snow-clad  peak  that 
towers  above  him,  can  thank  his  Maker  for  placing 
a  warm  equatorial  current,  a  perpetual  barrier,  be- 
tween the  fertility  and  warmth  which  surround  him, 
and  the  cold  destructive  strata  above;  and  thank 
Him  for  not  creating  such  a  state  of  things,  as  certain 
meteorologists  insist  we  shall  believe  He  has  created. 
Again,  where  are  the  upper  regions,  from  which  the 


236  THE     PHILOSOPHY    OF 

lateral  overflow  takes  place?  The  atmosphere  is 
differently  estimated,*'  at  from  thirty  to  forty-five 
miles,  or  more,  in  height.  Whatever  its  height  may 
be,  it  is  exceedingly  attenuated  in  its  "  upper  regions." 

Gay-Lussac  marked  the  barometer  at  12,-VV  inches 
at  the  height  of  23,040  feet.  Two  thirds  of  the  at- 
mospheric density,  then,  is  within  five  miles  of  the 
earth.  Air,  too,  is  compressibl^.  Allowing  for  tho 
latter  and  the  attenuation,  how  many  miles  in  verti- 
cal depth,  of  its  "  upper  regions"  must  move  from  one 
portion  to  another,  to  depress  the  barometer  two 
inches— -its  range  sometimes  in  twenty-four  hours — 
or  even  half  an  inch  ?  Let  the  computation  be  made, 
and  see  how  startling  the  proposition,  how  utterly 
impossible  that  the  theory  can  be  true. 

The  distinguished  Professor,  in  the  paper  referred 
to,  introduces  his  theory  of  the  formation  of  hurri- 
canes, and  we  quot< 


"  If  we  suppose  the  upper  portions  of  the  air  ascending  over  Asia 
and  Africa  to  flow  off  laterally,  and  if  this  takes  place  suddenly,  it 
will  check  the  course  of  the  upper  or  counter-current  above  the  trade- 
wind,  and  force  it  to  break  into  the  lower  current. 

"  An  east  wind  coming  into  a  S.  "W.  current  must  necessarily  oc- 
casion a  rotatory  movement,  turning  in  the  opposite  direction  to  the 
hands  of  a  watch.  A  rotatory  storm,  moving  from  S.  E.  to  N.  W.,  in 
the  lower  current  or  trade,  would,  in  this  view,  be  the  result  of  the 
encounter  of  two  masses  of  air,  impelled  toward  each  other  at  many 
places  in  succession,  the  further  cause  of  the  rotation  (originating 
primarily  in  this  manner)  being  that  described  by  me  in  detail  in  a 
memoir  'On  the  Law  of  Storms,'  translated  in  the  'Scientific 
Memoirs,'  vol.  iii.  art.  7.  Thus,  it  happens  that  the  West  India 
hurricanes,  nnd  the  Chinese  typhoons  occur  near  the  lateral  confines 
on  either  side  of  the  great  region  of  atmospheric  expansion,  the 
typhoons  being  probably  occasioned  by  the  direct  pressure  of  the  air 
from  the  region  of  the  trade-winds  over  tho  Pacific,  into  the  more 


THE    WEATHER.  237 

expanded  air  of  the  monsoon  region,  and  being  distinct  from  the 
storms  appropriately  called  by  the  Portuguese  'temporales,'  which 
accompany  the  out-burst  of  the  monsoon  when  the  direction  of  the 
\vind  is  reversed." 


The  analogy  between  this,  and  a  theory  of  Mr. 
Redfield's,  will  be  noticed  further  on.  But  I  remark, 
in  passing,  that  there  is  not  a  fact  or  inference  in  this 
paragraph  which  will  bear  examination. 

1.  There  is  no  such  regular  S.  "VV.  wind  over  the 
surface  trade,  as  he  supposes.     Doubtless,  there  are, 
occasionally,  secondary  S.  "W.  currents  between  the 
counter-trade  and  the  surface  one,  with  partial  con- 
densation, for  much  of  both  becomes  depolarized  by 
their  reciprocal  action  and  precipitation,  and  these  in- 
duced S.  "W.  currents  are  sometimes  so  strong  as  to 
usurp  the  place  of  the  surface-trade,  and  become  very 
violent  in  the  latter  part  of  hurricanes ;  but  such  is 
not  the  usual  course  of  the  upper  currents  of  the 
"West  Indies,  as  the  progress  of  storms  there,  and 
observation,  prove. 

2.  There  can  not  be  any  periods  of  extensive  and 
sudden  expansion  over  Africa.     If  there  is  any  place 
on  the  earth  which  has  a  more  uniformly  progressive 
temperature,  either  way,  and  is  more  free  from  sudden 
extremes,  or  which   is  more   arid    and  destitute  of 
aqueous  vapor,  and  sudden  aqueous  expansions,  than 
another,  it  is  Africa.     No  such   occasional  sudden 
expansions  are  there  possible. 

3.  Winds  do  not,  and  can  not,  "encounter"     They 
stratify  upon  each  other..    They  are  produced  by  the 
action  of  opposite  electricity,  and  are  connected  together 


238  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

in  their  origin  and  action.  The  atmosphere  is  never 
free  from  the  regular  and  irregular  currents,  however 
invisible  for  the  want  of  condensation.  Aeronauts 
find  them  in  the  most  serene  days.  They  exist  with- 
out encounter  or  tendency  to  rotation,  every  where, 
and  at  all  times ;  even  over  the  head  of  the  distin- 
guished Professor,  whether  he  sleeps  or  is  awake. 
"We  can  all  see  them  when  there  is  condensation,  and 
it  is  rarely  the  case  that  there  is  not  some  degree  <  i 
it  in  some  of  them. 

4.  That  "  Great  region  of  expansion"  is  a  chimera. 
It  does  not  exist.     It  is  a  region  of  lower  temperature, 
and  of  condensation,  instead  of  expansion  of  aqueous 
vapor.     The  trade  does  not  rise  in  it,  or  the  S.  W. 
wind  overflow  from  it.     See  the  table  cited  page  165. 

5.  The  hurricanes  do  not  originate  in  the  surface 
trades,  as  he  supposes.     They  originate  in  the  belt  of 
rains,  the  supposed  "  region  of  expansion,"  and  issue 
out  of  it ;  or  in  the  counter-trade,  where  volcanic  ele- 
vations rise  far  into  or  above  the  surface  trade. 

6.  This  hypothesis  can  not  be  sustained  upon  his 
own  principles.     The  distance  between  Africa  and 
the  "West  India  Islands,  where  most  of  the  hurricanes 
originate,  is  from  2,500  to  3,000  miles.     These  gales 
are  small  when  they  commence,  not  ordinarily  over 
one  or  two  hundred  miles  in  diameter,  and  often  less. 
There  are  trades  all  the  way  over  from  Africa,  and 
S.  W.  winds  also,  if  they  exist,  as  he  supposes,  in  the 
"West  Indies.     How  can  it  happen  that  this  lateral 
overflow  should  pass  without  effect,  over  2,500  miles 
of  S.  W.  wind  and  trade,  and  concentrating  the  over- 


THE    WEATHER.  239 

flow  of  a  continent  over  one  small  and  chosen  spot 
of  the  West  Indies,  pitch  down  there,  and  there  only, 
and  crowd  the  S.  W.  wind  into  the  trade  below? 
This  is  too  much  for  sensible  men  to  believe. 

What  does  Professor  Dove  mean  by  the  term  im- 
pulsion^ as  applied  to  the  winds?  How  are  they 
impelkdf  It  is  the  fundamental  idea  of  his  calorific 
theory,  that  they  are  drawn  by  the  suction  caused  by 
a  vacuum,  and  the  vacuum  created  by  expansion 
and  overflow  above,  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  grav- 
ity ;  that  the  S.  E.  trade  is  drawn  to  the  great  region  of 
expansion,  and  the  S.  W.  runs  from  it  as  an  overflow. 
But  if  the  S.  W.  is  driven  down  into  the  plane  and 
place  of  the  surface-trades,  how  does  it  continue  to 
be  impelled,  and  why  is  it  not  then  subject  to  the 
suction  of  the  vacuum  which  draws  the  trade?  Does 
that  vacuum  select  its  air,  and  so  attract  the  trade,  in 
preference  to  the  depressed  portion  of  the  S.  W. 
current,  that  the  former  runs  around  the  latter  to  get 
to  the  vacuum,  and  the  latter  around  the  former  to 
get  away  from  it  ?  And  does  the  trade,  when  it  has 
rot  around  the  S.  W.  current,  instead  of  going  to  the 
*acuum,  continue  to  gyrate,  and  the  S.  W.  current,  in- 
L^ad  of  pursuing  its  regular  course,  gyrate  also  about 
the  trade,  and  both  move  off  together,  regardless  of 
the  vacuum  of  the  great  region  of  expansion,  in  a 
new  direction  to  the  N.  W.,  in  an  independent,  self- 
sustaining,  cyclonic  movement,  increasing  in  power 
and  extent,  involving  extended  and  increasing  con- 
densation, producing  the  most  violent  electrical 
phenomena,  and  thus  continuing  up,  even  to  the 


240  THE    PHILOSOPHY    Off 

Arctic  circle?     Yes,  says  Professor  Dove.     No,  say 
all  fact,  all  analogy,  and  his  own  principles. 

7.  His  theory  relative  to  the  typhoons  is  unintel- 
ligible. If  they  originate  near  the  lateral  confines 
of  the  great  region  of  atmospheric  expansion,  they 
originate  in  the  region  of  the  trade-winds,  for  the  two 
are  identical.  How  the  direct  pressure  of  the  air 
from  the  trade-wind  over  the  Pacific,  in  the  more 
expanded  air  of  the  monsoon  region,  can  occasion  a 
typhoon  upon  any  principles,  passes  my  comprehen- 
sion. If,  as  Lieutenant  Maury  supposes,  the  monsoons 
are  reversed  trades,  then  the  trade- wind  and  monsoon 
region  are  identical.  If  the  monsoons  are  found  in  the 
belt  of  rains,  then,  the  trades,  upon  Professor  Dove's 
principles,  pass  into  the  monsoon  region  by  attraction 
or  suction,  without  pressure.  Either  way  the  theory 
is  undeserving  of  consideration. 

A  new  theory  has  recently  been  started  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Dobson,  and,  although  it  is  (like  all  other 
efforts  to  get  the  upper  strata  down  to  produce  con- 
densation, or  those  below  up,  that  they  may  be  con- 
densed), without  foundation,  his  collection  of  facts  is 
brief  and  interesting.  I  copy  his  article  from  the 
London,  Edinburgh,  and  Dublin  Phil.  Mag.,  for 
December,  1853.  It  adds  to  the  collection  of  facts  in 
relation  to  the  connection  between  volcanic  action 
and  storms  for  the  sevententh  century,  made  by  Dr. 
Webster : 

The  following  appear  to  be  the  main  facts  which  are  available  as 
a  basis  for  a  theory  which  shall  comprehend  all  the  meteors  in 
question : 


THE    WEATHER.      .  241 

1st.  The  eruption  of  a  submarine  volcano  has  produced  water- 
spouts. 

"During  these  bursts  the  most  vivid  flashes  of  lightning  continually 
issued  from  the  densest  part  of  the  volcano,  and  the  volumes  of 
smoke  rolled  off  in  large  masses  of  fleecy  clouds,  gradually  expanding 
themselves  before  the  wind  in  a  direction  nearly  horizontal,  and 
drawing  up  a  quantity  of  water-spouts.'1' — (Captain  Tilland's  description, 
of  the  upheaval  of  Sabrina  Island  in  June,  1811,  Phil.  Trans.) 

With  this  significant  fact  may  be  compared  the  following  analogous 
ones: 

"In  the  Aleutian  Archipelago  a  new  island  was  formed  in  1795. 
It  was  first  observed  after  a  storm,  at  a  point  in  the  sea  from  which 
a  column  of  smoke  had  been  seen  to  rise." — (Lyell,  Principles  of 
Geology.) 

"  Among  the  Aleutian  Islands  a  new  volcanic  island  appeared  in 
the  midst  of  a  storm,  attended  with  flames  and  smoke.  After  the 
sea  was  calm,  a  boat  was  sent  from  Unalaska  with  twenty  Russian 
hunters,  who  landed  on  this  island  on  June  1st,  1814." — (Journal  of 
Science,  vol.  vii.) 

"On  July  24th,  1848,  a  submarine  eruption  broke  out  between 
the  mainland  of  Orkney  and  the  island  of  Strousa,  Amid  thunder 
and  lightning,  a  very  dense  jet  black  cloud  was  seen  to  rise  from  the 
sea,  at  a  distance  of  five  or  six  miles,  which  traveled  toward  the 
north-east.  On  passing  over  Strousa,  the  wind  from  a  slight  air  be- 
came a  hurricane,  and  a  thick,  well-defined  belt  of  large  hailstones 
was  left  on  the  island.  The  barometer  fell  two  inches." — (Transac- 
tions Royal  Society,  Edinburg,  vol.  ix.) 

2d.  Hurricanes,  whirlwinds,  and  hailstones  accompany  the  par- 
oxysms of  volcanos. 

"1730.  A  great  volcanic  eruption  at  Lancerote  Island,  and  a 
storm,  which  was  equally  new  and  terrifying  to  the  inhabitants,  as 
they  had  never  known  one  hi  the  country  before." — (Lyell,  Principles 
of  Geology,  voL  ii.) 

"  1754.  In  the  Philippine  Islands  a  terrible  volcanic  eruption 
destroyed  the  town  of  Taal  and  several  villages.  Darkness,  hurri- 
canes, thunder,  lightning,  and  earthquakes,  alternated  in  frightful 
succession." — (Edinburgh  Philosophical  Journal) 

"In  1805,  1811,  1813.  and  1830,  during  eruptions  of  Etna,  cara- 
vans in  the  deserts  of  Africa  perished  by  violent  whirlwinds.  In 
1807,  while  Vesuvius  was  in  eruption,  a  whirlwind  destroyed  a 
caravan." — (Rev.  W.  B.  Clarke  in  Tasw.  Journal.) 

"1815,  Java.  A  tremendous  eruption  of  Tombow  Mountain. 
Between  nine  and  ten  P.M.,  ashes  began  to  fall,  and  soon  after  a 

11 


242  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

violent  whirlwind  took  up  into  the  air  the  largest  trees,  men,  horses, 
cattle,  etc." — (Raffles'  History  of  Java.) 

"  1817,  Dec.  Vesuvius  in  eruption.  In  the  evening  a  hail  storm. 
accompanied  with  red  sand." — (Journal  of  Science,  vol.  v.) 

"  1820,  Banda.  A  frightful  volcanic  eruption,  and  in  the  evening 
an  earthquake  and  a  violent  hurricane." — (Annales  de  Chimie.) 

"1822,  Oct.  Eruption  of  Vesuvius.  Toward  its  close  the  volcanic 
thunder-storm  produced  an  exceedingly  violent  and  abundant  fall  of 
rain." — (Humboldt,  Aspects  of  Nature.) 

"  1843,  Jan.  Etna  in  eruption.  Violent  hurricanes  at  Genoa,  in 
the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  in  Great  Britain. 

"  1843,  Feb.  Destructive  earthquakes  in  the  "West  Indies,  a  volcanic 
eruption  at  Guadaloupe,  followed  by  hurricanes  in  the  Atlantic." 

"  1846,  June  26.  Volcano  of  White  Island,  New  Zealand,  in  erup- 
tion. Heavy  squalls  of  wind  and  hail  j  it  blew  as  hard  as  in  a 
typhoon." — (Commodore  Hayes,  R.N.,  in  Naut  Mag.,  1847.) 

"  1847,  March  20.  Volcanic  eruption  and  earthquake  in  Java;  and 
on  the  21st  of  March,  and  3d  of  April,  violent  hurricanes." — (Java 
Courant.) 

"  1851,  Aug.  5.  A  frightful  eruption  of  the  long  dormant  volcano 
of  the  Pelee  Mountain,  Martinique.  Aug.  17.  Hurricane  at  St. 
Thomas,  etc. ;  earthquake  at  Jamaica,  etc. 

"  1852,  April  14.  Earthquake  at  Hawaii,  and  on  the  15th  a  great 
volcanic  eruption.  On  the  18th  a  gale  of  unusual  violence  lasted 
thirty-six  hours,  and  did  great  damage." — (The  Polynesian,  April 
22,  1852.) 

3d.  In  volcanic  regions,  earthquakes  and  hurricanes  often  occur 
almost  simultaneously,  but  in  no  certain  order,  and  without  any  vol- 
canic eruption  being  observed. 

In  1712,  1722,  1815,  and  1851,  earthquakes  and  hurricanes 
occurred  together  at  Jamaica;  in  1762  at  Carthagena;  in  1780  at 
Barbadoes;  in  1811  at  Charleston;  in  1847  at  Tobago;  in  1837  and 
1848  at  Antigua;  in  1819,  an  awful  storm  at  Montreal,  rain  of  a  dark 
inky  color,  and  a  slight  earthquake.  People  conjectured  that  a  vol- 
cano had  broken  out.  In  1766  the  great  Martinique  hurricane,  a 
waterspout  burst  on  Mount  Pelee  and  overwhelmed  the  place.  Same 
night,  an  earthquake. 

1843,  Oct.  30.  Manilla. — Twenty-four  hours'  rain  and  two  heavy 
earthquakes.  10  P.M.,  a  severe  hurricane. 

"1852,  Sept.  16.  Manilla. — An  earthquake  destroyed  a  great  part 
of  the  city ;  many  vessels  wrecked  by  a  great  hurricane  in  the  ad- 
jacent seas,  between  the  18th  and  26th  of  September."-^Singapore 
Times.) 


THE    WEATHER.  243 

"  1737,  Oct.  Calcutta. — Furious  hurricane  and  violent  earthquake; 
300,000  lives  lost." 

''1618,  May  26.  Bombay. — Hurricane  and  earthquakes;  2,000 
lives  lost."— (Madras  Lit.  Tran.,  1837.) 

"1800.  Ongole,  India,  and  in  1815,  at  Ceylon,  a  hurricane  and 
earthquake  shocks." — (Piddington. ) 

"  1348.  Cyprus. — An  earthquake  and  a  frightful  hurricane." — 
(Hecker.) 

"1819.  Bagdad. — An  earthquake  and  a  storm — an  event  quite  un- 
precedented. 

"  1820,  Dec.  Zante. — Great  earthquake  and  hurricane,  with  mani- 
festations of  a  submarine  eruption." — (Edinburg  Phil.  Journal.) 

"1831,  Dec.  Navigator's  Islands. — Hurricane  and  earthquakes." — 
("Williams'  Missionary  Enterprise.) 

"1848,  Oct.,  Nov.  New  Zealand. — Succession  of  earthquake  shocks, 
and  several  tempests. 

"  1836,  Oct.  At  Valparaiso,  a  destructive  tempest  and  severe 
earthquakes." — (Xautical  Magazine,  1848.) 

When  an  earthquake  of  excessive  intensity  occurs,  as  at  Lisbon,  in 
1755,  the  volcanic  craters,  which  act  as  the  safety-valves  of  the  regions 
in  which  they  are  placed,  are  supposed  to  be  sealed  up  ;  and  it  is  a 
remarkable  and  highly-suggestive  fact,  that  720  hurricane  follows  such 
an  earthquake.  The  number  of  instances  of  the  concurrence  of  ordi- 
nary earthquakes  and  hurricanes  might  easily  be  increased,  but  the 
preceding  suffice  to  show  the  generality  of  their  coincidence,  both  as 
to  time  and  place. 

4th.  The  breaking  of  water-spouts  on  mountains  sometimes  ac- 
companies hurricanes. 

In  1766,  during  the  great  Martinique  hurricane,  before  cited. 

"1826,  Nov.  At  Teneriffe,  enormous  and  most  destructive  water- 
spouts fell  on  the  culminating  tops  of  the  mountains,  and  a  furious 
cyclone  raged  around  the  island.  The  same  occurred  in  1812  and  in 
1837." — (Espy  and  Grey's  Western  Australia.) 

"  1829.  Moray. — Floods  and  earthquakes,  preceded  by  water-spouts 
and  a  tremendous  storm." — (Sir  T.  D.  Lander.) 

"  1826,  June.  Hurricanes,  accompanied  by  water-spouts  and  fall  of 
avalanches,  in  the  White  Mountains." — (Silliman's  American  Journal, 
vol.  xv.) 

5th.  The  fall  of  an  avalanche  sometimes  produces  a  hurricane. 

"  1819,  Dec.  A  part  (300,000,000  cubic  feet)  of  the  glacier  fell 
from  the  Weisshorn  (9,000  feet).  At  the  instant,  when  the  snow  and 
ice  struck  the  inferior  mass  of  the  glacier,  the  pastor  of  the  village  of 
Randa,  the  sacristan,  and  some  other  persons,  observed  a  light.  A 


244  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

frightful  hurricane  immediately  succeeded." — (Edinburg  Philosoph- 
ical Journal,  1820.) 

6th.  Water-spouts  occur  frequently  near  active  volcanos. 

This  is  well  known  with  regard  to  the  West  Indies  and  the  Medi- 
terranean. The  following  notices  refer  to  the  Malay  Archipelago 
and  the  Sandwich  Islands : 

"  Water-spouts  are  often  seen  in  the  seas  and  straits  adjacent  to 
Singapore.  In  Oct.,  1841,  I  saw  six  in  action,  attached  to  one  cloud. 
In  August,  1838,  one  passed  over  the  harbor  and  town  of  Singapore, 
dismasting  one  ship,  sinking  another,  and  carrying  off  the  corner  of 
the  roof  of  a  house,  in  its  passage  landward." — (Journal  of  Indian 
Archipelago.) 

"  1809.  An  immense  water-spout  broke  over  the  harbor  of  Hono- 
lulu. A  few  years  before,  one  broke  on  the  north  side  of  the  island 
(Oahu),  washed  away  a  number  of  houses,  and  drowned  several  in- 
habitants."— (Jarves'  History  of  Sandwich  Islands.) 

Tth.  Cyclones  begin  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  active  vol- 
canos. 

The  Mauritius  cyclones  begin  near  Java ;  the  West  Indian,  near 
the  volcanic  series  of  the  Caribbean  Islands ;  those  of  the  Bay  of 
Bengal,  near  the  volcanic  islands,  on  its  eastern  shores ;  the  typhoons 
of  the  China  Sea,  near  the  Philippine  Islands,  etc. 

8th.  Within  the  tropics,  cyclones  move  toward  the  west ;  and,  in 
middle  latitudes,  cyclones  and  water-spouts  move  toward  the  N.  E., 
in  the  northern  hemisphere,  and  toward  the  S.  E.  in  the  southern 
hemisphere. 

9th.  In  the  northern  hemisphere,  cyclones  rotate  in  a  horizontal 
plane,  in  the  order  N.  W.,  S.  E. ;  and  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  in 
the  order  N.  E.,  S.  W. 

By  applying  the  principles  of  electro-dynamics  to  the  electricity  of 
the  atmosphere,  I  shall  endeavor  to  connect  and  explain  the  preced- 
ing well-defined  facts.  The  continuous  observations  of  Quetelet,  on 
the  electricity  of  the  atmosphere,  from  1844  to  1849  (Literary  Journal, 
February,  1850),  show  that  it  is  always  positive,  and  increases  as  the 
temperature  diminishes.  It  therefore  increases  rapidly  with  the  height 
above  the  earth's  surface.  We  may,  consequently,  regard  the  upper 
and  colder  regions  of  tho  atmosphere  as  an  immense  reservoir  of 
electric  fluid  enveloping  the  earth,  which  is  insulated  by  the  inter- 
mediate spherical  shell  formed  by  the  lower  and  denser  atmosphere. 
Now,  whenever  a  vertical  column  of  this  atmosphere  is  suddenly  dis- 
placed, the  surrounding  aqueous  vapor  will  be  immediately  condensed 
and  aggregated,  and  the  cold  rarefied  air  and  moisture  will  form  a 
vertical  conductor  for  tho  descent  of  the  electrical  fluid.  This  de- 


THE    WEATHER.  245 

scent  will  take  place  down  a  spiral,  gyrating  in  the  order  X.  V-"., 
S.  E.,  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  since  the  electric  current  is  under 
the  same  influence  as  that  of  the  south  pole  of  a  magnet ;  and  in  the 
order  N.  E.,  S.  W.,  in  the  southern  hemisphere.  The  air  exterior  to 
the  conducting  cylinder  will  partake  of  the  violent  revolving  motion, 
and  a  tornado  or  cyclone  will  be  produced. 

Upon  the  foregoing  facts  I  shall  comment  in  an, 
other  place. 

Three  theories  have  been  advanced  by  meteorolo- 
gists of  this  country,  two  of  which  profess  to  ex- 
plain all  the  phenomena  of  the  weather.  Professor 
Espy  attributed  the  production  of  storms  and  rain  to 
an  ascending  column  of  air,  rarefied  by  heat,  and  the 
rarefaction  increased  by  the  latent  heat  of  vapor 
given  out  during  condensation,  and  an  inward  tend- 
ency of  the  air,  from  all  directions,  toward  the  as- 
cending vortex,  constituting  the  prevailing  winds. 
Thus,  Professor  Espy  conceived,  and  to  some  extent 
proved,  that  the  wind  blew  inward,  from  all  sides, 
toward  the  center  of  a  storm,  either  as  a  circle,  or 
having  a  long  central  line,  and  he  conceived  that  it 
ascended  in  the  middle,  and  spread  out  above  ;  and 
that  clouds,  rain,  hail,  and  snow,  were  formed  by 
condensation  consequent  upon  the  expansion  and 
cooling  of  the  atmosphere,  as  it  attained  an  increased 
elevation. 

This  ascent  was  not,  in  fact,  proved  by  Professor 
Espy,  has  not  been  found  ly  others,  and  is  not  discover- 
able, according  to  my  observations.  The  theory  was  in- 
genious, founded  on  the  theory  of  Dalton,  that  the 
vapor  was  maintained  in  the  atmosphere  by  reason 
of  a  large  quantity  of  latent  heat,  which  was  given 


246  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

out  when  condensation  took  place.  This  theory  is 
also  unsound.  No  such  elevation  of  temperature  is 
found  in  clouds  or  fogs  when  they  form  near  the 
earth,  however  dense.  Thus  the  two  principal 
elements  of  Professor  Espy's  theory  are  found  to  be 
untrue,  and  the  theory  untenable.  But  it  was  sus- 
tained with  great  ability  and  research,  and  the  dis- 
tinguished theorist  deserves  much  for  the  discovery 
and  record  of  important  facts  in  relation  to  the 
weather.  Aside  from  its  theoretical  Views,  his  book 
contains  a  great  mass  -of  valuable  information,  and 
will  well  repay  the  cost  of  purchase  and  perusal. 

Another  theory,  by  Mr.  Bassnett,  is  of  recent  date, 
founded  on  the  influence  of  the  moon,  and  the  sup- 
posed creation  of  vortices  in  the  ether  above,  whose 
influence  extends  to  the  earth,  producing  storms  and 
other  phenomena.  No  one  can  peruse  his  book 
without  conceding  to  him  great  ability  and  scientific 
attainment ;  and  if  his  theory  was  true,  the  periods 
of  fair  and  foul  weather  could  be  calculated  with 
great  mathematical  certainty.  But  it  contains  in- 
herent and  insuperable  objections.  I  will  only  add 
that  all  herein  before  contained  is  in  direct  opposition 
to  it. 

Mr.  "W.  C.  Kedfield,  of  New  York,  as  early  as 
1831,  first  advanced  in  this  country  the  theory  of 
gyration  in  storms,  and  investigated  their  lines  of 
progress  on  our  coast  and  continent.  His  theory  is 
limited  in  its  character,  and  does  not  profess,  except 
indirectly,  to  explain  all,  or  indeed  any,  of  the  other 
phenomena  of  the  weather.  As  far  as  it  goes,  how- 


THE    WEATHER.  247 

ever,  it  is  generally  received  in.  this  country  and 
Europe,  and  has  been  adopted  by  Keed,  Piddington, 
and  others,  who  have  written  on  the  law  of  storms. 
The  position  of  Mr.  Kedfield  is  honorable  to  himself 
and  his  country.  Science  and  navigation  are  much 
indebted  to  him  for  his  industry  in  the  collection  of 
facts.  Nevertheless,  his  theory  is  not  in  accordance 
with  my  observation,  and  I  deem  it  unsound.  Al- 
though expressed  disbelief  of  the  theory  has  been 
characterized  as  an  "  attack"  upon  its  author,  I  pro- 
pose, with  that  respect  which  is  due  to  him,  but  with 
that  freedom  and  independence  which  a  search  for 
truth  warrants,  to  examine  it  with  some  particularity. 
It  is  a  part  of  the  subject,  and  I  can  not  avoid  it. 

When  the  theory  was  first  announced,  I  adopted  it 
as  probably  true ;  and  being  then  engaged  in  a  dif- 
ferent profession,  which  took  me  much  into  the 
open  air  by  night  and  day,  I  watched  with  renewed 
care  the  clouds  and  currents  for  evidence  to  confirm 
it.  I  discovered  none;  on  the  contrary,  I  found 
much,  very  much,  absolutely  and  utterly  inconsistent 
with  its  truth.  The  substance  only  of  these  observa- 
tions will  be  adduced. 

Mr.  Kedfield  admits  that  the  progression  of  our 
storms  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  is  from  some 
point  between  S.  S.  W.  and  W.  S.  "W.,  to  some  point 
between  N.  N.  E.  and  E.  N.  E.  According  to  my 
observation,  except  perhaps  in  occasional  autumnal 
gales,  they  are  not  often,  if  ever,  from  S.  of  S.  W., 
and  the  great  majority  of  them,  including,  I  believe, 
all  N.  E.  storms,  are  between  S.  W.  and  W.  S.  W. 


248 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


Now,  the  card  of  Mr.  Bedfield,  moving  over  any 
place  from  any  point  between  S.  W.  and  "W.  S.  "W., 
calls  for  a  S.  E.  wind  at  its  axis,  an  E.  wind  at  its 
north  front,  and  a  S.  wind  at  its  south  front,  and  does 
not  callybr  a  N.  E.  wind  on  its  front  at  all,  except  at  the 
north  extreme,  where  it  could  not  continue  for  any  con- 
siderable period. 

Fig.  17. 

Nor  tli . 


In  relation  to  this,  I  observe,  1st.  About  one  half  of 
our  N.  E.  storms,  including  some  of  the  most  severe  ones, 
not  only  set  in  N.  E.,  but  continue  in  that  quarter  with- 
out veering  at  all,  during  the  entire  period  that  the  storm 
cloud  is  over  us  ;  usually  for  twenty -four  hours  ;  not 
unfrequently  for  forty-eight  hours,  sometimes  for 
seventy-two  or  more  hours.  This  every  one  can  ob- 
serve for  himself,  and  it  can  not,  of  course,  be  recon- 
ciled with  his  theory. 


THE    LEATHER.  249 

2d.  K  E.  storms,  whether  they  set  in  from  that 
quarter  in  the  commencement,  or  veer  to  it  after- 
ward, when  they  do  "  change"  round,  more  frequent- 
ly veer  by  the  S.  to  the  S.  W.  in  clearing  off,  than 
back  through  the  K  into  the  K  W.  The  former,  in 
accordance  with  his  theory,  they  can  not  do,  as  the 
reader  can  see  by  passing  the  left  side  of  the  card 
over  his  place  of  residence  on  the  map  from  S.  W.  to 
KE. 

3d.  N.  E.  storms  often  pass  off  without  hauling  by 
S.  or  backing  by  N.,  and  with  or  without  a  clearing 
off  shower,  the  wind  shifting  and  coming  out  suddenly 
at  S.  W.  This  they  could  not  do  in  accordance  with 
his  theory,  as  slipping  the  card  will  show. 

4th.  From  June  to  February  it  is  exceedingly  un- 
common for  a  IS".  E.  storm  to  back  into  the  IS".  W. 
They  do  so  more  frequently  from  February  to  May, 
especially  about  the  time  of  the  vernal  equinox  and 
after;  and  then,  because  the  focus  of  precipitation 
and  storm  intensity  of  the  extra  tropical  zone  of  rains 
is  S.  of  42°  east  of  the  Alleghanies.  His  theory  re- 
quires them  to  back  by  N.  into  N.  "W".  in  all  cases, 
when  they  set  in  JW.  E. 

5th.  When  they  do  back  from  the  N.  E.  into  the 
N.  W.,  it  rarely  indeed  continues  to  storm  after  the 
wind  leaves  the  point  of  IS".  E.  by  N.,  and  generally, 
if  it  does  continue  stormy,  the  wind  is  light,  and  not  a 
gale,  how  violent  soever  the  gale  from  the  eastward 
may  have  been.  Usually,  by  the  time  the  wind 
gets  K  W.,  it  has  cleared  off.  This,  Mr.  Eedfield,  as 

we  shall  see,  evades  by  embracing  the  N.  W.  fair 

11* 


250  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

wind  as  a  part  of  the  same  gale.  According  to  my 
observation,  therefore,  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
N.  E.  storms,  and  they  are  a  majority  of  the  most 
violent  ones  of  our  climate  east  of  the  Alleghanies, 
do  not  commence,  continue,  or  veer  in  accordance  with 
his  theory,  but  the  reverse  ;  and  so  long  as  this  is  so, 
I  can  not  receive  his  theory  as  true. 

6th.  S.  E.  storms  do  not  always,  or  indeed  often, 
conform  to  the  requirements  of  his  card.  "When  they 
set  in  violently  at  S.  E.,  and  continue  so  for  hours 
without  veering,  the  axis  of  the  storm  should  be  over 
us,  and  the  wind  should  change  suddenly  to  N.  W. 
This  did  not  occur  in  the  storm  of  Sept.  3,  1821,  nor 
does  it  often,  if  ever,  occur  in  the  summer  or  early 
gales  of  the  autumnal  months.  In  the  later  storms  of 
autumn,  and  as  often  in  those  which  are  very  gentle 
as  any,  and  in  the  winter  months  when  S.  E.  gales 
are  rare,  it  does  sometimes  so  change  after  the  storm 
cloud  has  passed.  But  in  the  winter  months,  as  in 
the  storm  investigated  by  Professor  Loomis,  the 
storms  are  frequently  long  from  S.  E.  to  N.  W.,  and 
the  S.  E.  wind  blows  nearly  in  coincidence  with  its 
long  axis,  for  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  miles,  till 
the  barometric  minimum  is  passed,  and  the  inducing 
and  attracting  force  of  this  part  of  the  storm  cloud  is 
spent,  and  then  the  N.  W.  wind  follows ;  sometimes 
blowing  in  under  the  storm  cloud,  turning  the  rain 
to  snow ;  but  oftener  following  the  storm  within  a 
few  hours,  or  the  next  day.  The  storm  of  Professor 
Loomis,  when  over  Texas,  was  not  probably  more 
than  four  or  five  hundred  miles  in  length.  As  it 


THE    WEATHER.  251 

curved  more,  and  passed  north  and  east,  it  extended 
laterally,  its  center  traveling  with  most  rapidity,  and 
when  it  reached  the  eastern  coast  was  about  fifteen 
hundred  miles  long,  and  not  more  than  six  hundred 
broad.  Along  the  eastern  part  of  that  storm,  except 
when  by  its  more  rapid  progress  the  front  projected 
much  further  eastward  over  New  England  than  its 
previously  existing  line,  the  S.  E.  winds  blew. 
"When  it  bulged  out,  so  to  speak,  by  reason  of  the 
increased  progress  of  the  center,  the  wind  veered  to 
the  N.  E.  The  center  of  the  storm  passed  near  St. 
Louis  and  south  of  Quebec,  as  the  fall  of  rain,  the 
bulging  of  the  rapidly-moving  center ',  and  the  line  of 
subsequent  cold,  attest.  It  is  utterly  impossible  for 
any  unbiased  mind  to  look  at  the  description  of 
that  storm,  and  attribute  to  it  a  rotary  character. 
With  all  the  data  before  him,  Mr.  Eedfield  himself 
has  not  attempted  it  directly.* 

The  September  storm  of  1821  was  more  violent 
in  character  than  any  which  have  since  occurred. 
My  recollection  of  it  is  as  distinct  as  if  it  occurred 
yesterday.  Peculiar  circumstances,  not  important  in 
this  connection,  fixed  my  attention  upon  the  weather 
during  that  day  and  night.  There  were  cirro- 
stratus  clouds  passing  all  day,  from  about  S.  W.  to 
N.  E.,  thickening  toward  night  with  fresh  S.  S.  W. 
wind  and  flocculent  scud,  such  as  I  have  since  seen 
at  the  setting-in  of  S.  E.  autumnal  gales.  In  the 
evening  the  wind  (in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of 
Hartford,  Ct.),  veered  to  S.  E.,  the  cloud  floated  low, 
it  became  very  dark,  and  the  wind  blew  a  most 

*  See  Am.  Jour,  of  Seience,  New  Series,  VoL  18.  p.  187. 


252  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

violent  gale.  The  trees  were  falling  about  the  house 
where  I  then  resided,  the  windows  were  burst  in, 
and  I  was  up  and  observant.  When  the  cloud 
passed  off  to  the  east,  it  was  suddenly  light,  and 
almost  calm.-  The  western  edge  of  the  storm  cloud 
was  as  perpendicular  as  a  steep  mountain  side,  and 
was  enormously  elevated,  and  very  black.  I  have 
sometimes  seen  the  western  side  of  a  summer  thun- 
der cloud,  which  had  drawn  a  violent  gust  along 
beneath  it,  as  elevated  and  perpendicular,  but  never 
a  storm  cloud.  No  cloud  of  that  deptli,  or  intensity 
as  exhibited  by  its  peculiar  blackness,  ever  floated  or 
will  float  so  near  the  earth,  without  inducing  a  de- 
vastating current  beneath.  After  it  had  passed  the 
ridges  east  of  the  Connecticut  valley,  its  top  could 
be  seen  for  a  long  and  unusual  period  over  the 
elevated  ranges. 

Now  that  storm  was  but  an  intense  portion  of 
an  extensive  stratus-rain  cloud.  Such  portions  fre- 
quently exist,  and  Mr.  Redfield  admits  the  fact. 
Another  like  portion,  in  the  same  storm,  passed  over 
Norfolk,  Virginia,  and  the  adjacent  section,  where 
the  wind  was  N.  E.,  and  veered  round  by  N.  W.  to 
S.  "W.  Baltimore,  and  some  vessels  at  sea,  were  be- 
tween the  two  intense  portions  of  the  storm,  and 
were  not  affected  by  either.  Its  northern  limit  was 
bounded  by  a  line,  drawn  from  some  point  not  far 
north  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  north-eastward,  and 
north  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts.  I  was  about 
forty  miles  south  of  its  northern  limit,  and  north  of 
its  center.  During  that  day,  and  the  next,  there  was 


THE    WEATHER.  253 

wind  from  S.  W.  to  S.  E.,  inclusive,  including  the 
gale,  and  from  no  other  quarter.  It  did  not  at  any 
time  veer  to  the  W.  or  N.  W.  After  the  passage  of 
the  storm-cloud,  the  wind  was  very  light.  When 
this  intense  portion  of  the  storm  passed  over  the 
valley  of  the  Connecticut,  its  longest  axis  was  from 
S.  S.  E.  to  N.  K  W..  and  the  wind  was  S.  K  the 
whole  length  of  it.  In  its  passage  from  the  longitude 
of  Trenton  to  Boston,  there  was  N.  W.  wind  at  one 
point,  and  but  one,  and  that  was  in  the  iron  region, 
at  the  N.  W.  corner  of  Connecticut,  at  the  northern 
limit  of  the  intense  cloud,  and  owing,  doubtless,  to 
some  local  cause.  The  direction  of  the  wind  in  that 
storm  was  in  accordance  with  what  is  generally  true 
of  our  storms.  The  wind  on  the  front  of  the  storm 
depends  upon  its  shape.  If  the  storm  is  long  in  pro- 
portion to  its  width  (and  no  other  violent  autumnal  or 
winter  storm  has  been  investigated,  to  my  knowl- 
edge), the  wind  blows  axially,  or  obliquely,  on  its 
front.  Thus,  if  long  from  S.  E.  to  K  W.,  the  wind 
on  its  front  will  blow  from  the  S.  E.  So,  if  the 
storm  is  long  from  S.  TV",  to  1ST.  E.,  and  has  a  south- 
eastern lateral  extension,  with  an  easterly  progression, 
the  wind  will  blow  axially  in  the  center,  and  ob- 
liquely at  the  edges.  Instances  might  be  multiplied, 
but  I  refer  to  one  of  recent  date  and  striking  charac- 
ter. All  of  us  remember  the  drought  of  1854.  It 
ended  in  drenching  rain  on  the  9th  of  September. 
This  rain  fell  from  a  belt,  half  showery  and  half 

tormy  in  character,  which  had  a  S.  E.  lateral  ex- 

msion. 


254  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

The  evening  of  the  previous  day  there  was  some 
lightning  visible  at  the  north,  and  the  usual  S.  S.  "W. 
afternoon  wind  continued  fresh  after  nightfall.  The 
next  day  we  had  a  brisk  wind  from  the  same  quarter, 
and,  after  noon,  the  clouds  appeared  to  pile  up  in  the 
far  north,  seeming  very  elevated.  They  continued 
to  do  so,  extending  southerly  during  the  afternoon, 
with  a  high  wind  from  S.  S.  TF.,  the  cumulus  clouds 
moving  E.  1ST.  E.  At  5  P.M.,  gentlemen  who  left 
New  York  at  3  P.M.,  reported  that  a  dispatch  had 
been  received  from  Albany,  dated  1  P.M.,  stating  that 
it  was  raining  very  heavily  there.  About  7  P.M.,  the 
belt  reached  us,  and  it  rained  heavily  from  that  time 
till  morning.  Not  far  from  8  P.M.,  and  during  the 
heaviest  rain,  the  wind  shifted  from  the  S.  S.  W.  to 
1ST.  E.,  and  blew  fresh  and  cold  from  that  quarter 
during  the  night,  and  till  the  belt  had  passed  south, 
and  then  from  N.  E.  by  N.,  cool,  with  heavy  scud, 
during  the  forenoon,  veering  gradually  to  the  N.  N.  E., 
and  dying  away.  After  the  rain  ceased,  the  north- 
ern edge  of  the  belt  was  distinctly  visible  in  the  S. 
and  S.  E.,  its  stratus-cloud  moving  E.  N.  E.,  and  its 
scud  to  the  westward. 

The  front  of  that  storm  did  not  pass  over  us. 
It  was  long  and  narrow.  The  wind  blew  somewhat 
obliquely  inward,  along  its  southern  border,  to  the 
eastward,  and,  in  like  maner,  to  the  westward,  on  its 
northern  border,  but  from  the  K.  E.  axially  along 
its  central  portions. 

In  the  last  instance,  the  wind  changed  from  S.  "W. 
to  N.  E.  This,  too,  is  impossible,  according  to  Mr. 


THE    TTEATHER.  255 

Bedfield's  theory.  Similar  instances,  in  summer,  and 
early  autumn,  are  not  uncommon.  But  I  shall  recur 
to  this  in  connection  with  the  different  classes  of 
storms. 

Again,  the  manner  in  which  these  S.  E.  winds 
co-exist  with  the  N.  E.,  and  become  the  prevailing 
wind,  toward  the  close  of  the  storm,  is  instructive, 
and  inconsistent  with  the  theory  of  Mr.  Redfield. 
In  the  West  Indies,  the  first  effect  of  the  storm  is 
to  increase  the  N.  E.  trade ;  the  wind  then  becomes 
baffling,  but  settles  in  the  K  W.  or  K  K  W.,  in 
direct  opposition  to  the  admitted  progress  of  the  storm. 
At  this  point,  or  at  S.  "W.,  it  blows  with  most  force. 
Sometimes  it  veers  gradually,  and  sometimes  falls 
calm,  and  comes  out  from  the  S.  TV.,  blowing  vio- 
lently. It  ends  by  veering  to  the  S.  E.,  following 
gently  the  course  of  the  storm.  Thus,  Mr.  Edwards, 
in  the  third  volume  of  his  History  of  Jamaica,  as 
herein  before  cited,  "  all  hurricanes  begin  from  the  north, 
veer  lack  to  W.  N.  TF.,  TF.,  and  S.  S.  TF.,  and  when 
tliey  get  round  to  S.  E.  the  foul  weather  breaks  up" 

A  short,  sudden  gale,  resembling  those  of  our 
summer  thunder-showers,  is  sometimes  met  with  from 
the  S.  E. ;  but  the  violent  hurricanes  of  any  consid- 
erable continuance  are,  in  almost  every  case,  as  just 
stated. 

Now,  there  is,  in  our  latitudes,  an  obvious  law  on 
the  subject,  and  it  is  this  : — If  the  storm  is  not  dis- 
proportionately long,  northerly  and  southerly,  there 
is  a  general  tendency  to  induce  and  attract  a  surface 
current,  in  opposition  to  the  course  of  the  storm  on 


256  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

its  front,  and  especially  its  north  front.  At  the 
same  time,  there  is  a  tendency  to  induce  a  lateral  cur- 
rent on  its  side,  particulary  the  southerly  side,  and 
sometimes  its  south  front :  that  the  latter  current  is, 
in  the  first  part  of  the  storm,  above  the  former ;  in 
the  middle  and  latter  part,  it  becomes  the  prevailing 
current  at  the  surface,  and  the  wind  changes  accord- 
ingly, with  or  without  a  calm — that  this  lateral 
change  sometimes  takes  place  on  either  side,  but 
usually  occurs  on  the  side  where  the  water  is  warm- 
est, or  there  is,  for  other  and  local  reasons,  a  greater 
susceptibility  in  the  atmosphere  to  inductive  and  attract- 
ive influence.  Thus,  our  N.  E.  storms  very  frequently 
have  a  southerly  current  also,  drawn  from  the  ocean, 
south  of  us,  which  forms  the  middle  current,  and,  in 
the  middle  and  latter  part  of  it,  becomes  the  prevail- 
ing one.  I  have  seen  more  than  a  hundred  such  in- 
stances, clearly  and  distinctly  marked.  Since  I  have 
been  writing  this  chapter,  January  29th,  1855,  such 
an  instance  has  occurred.  On  Sunday,  the  28th,  the 
cirro-stratus  were  all  day  passing  from  the  S.  W.  to 
1ST.  E.,  and  gradually  thickening  with  light  air  from 
the  E.  1ST.  E.,  in  the  afternoon.  During  the  evening 
the  wind  set  in  violently  from  the  N.  E.,  with  a  delug- 
ing rain.  During  the  night,  and  after  a  brief  calm, 
it  changed  suddenly  to  the  southward,  and  blew  in 
like  manner.  This  morning  the  storm  was  gone,  and 
with  it,  six  inches  of  hard,  frozen  icy  scow;  the 
trade  was  clear,  with  the  exception  of  here  and  there 
a  broken,  melting  piece  of  stratus,  but  scud  were  still 
running  from  the  southward,  and  the  wind  has  been 


THE    WEATHER.  257 

from  the  south,  veering  to  S.  W.,  all  day,  with  sun- 
shine. As  I  have  before  remarked,  this  middle  cur- 
rent is  always  present,  in  this  locality,  in  stratus 
storms,  when  there  is  a  heavy  fall  of  rain  or  snow, 
although,  when  the  latter  happens,  the  middle  cur- 
rent is  sometimes  from  the  northward ;  if  it  be  from 
the  southward,  it  turns  the  snow  first  into  very  large 
flakes,  and  then  to  rain  in  our  part  of  the  storm. 

Doubtless,  the  same  thing  occurs  every  where.  In 
the  "West  Indies,  and  especially  over  the  Leeward 
Islands,  the  middle  current  is  most  commonly  from 
the  stream  of  warm  water  which  runs  off  to  the  west- 
ward into  the  Caribbean  Sea ;  as  the  S.  W.  moon- 
soon  is  from  the  same  current  below  the  Cape  de 
Yerdes.  The  S.  W.  winds,  which  come  from  those 
south  polar  waters,  in  the  West  Indies,  appear  to  be 
the  most  violent.  But  it  may  be  on  either  or  both 
sides. 

The  hurricane  cloud  of  the  West  Indies  moves 
confessedly  N.  W.  in  most  instances,  and  undoubt- 
edly it  does  in  all.  There  is  an  immutable  law  that 
requires  it.  The  seeming  exceptions  are  not  such  ; 
they  are  but  instances  imperfectly  investigated. 
ISTow,  a  circular  storm  moving  N.  W.  can  set  in  N". 
W.  only  on  the  left  front,  and  can  not  change  to  S. 
W.  on  that  side  of  the  axis.  Nor  can  the  wind  blow 
at  the  axis  from  K  W.  at  all.  It  should  be  K  E. 
in  first  half,  and  S.  W.  in  last  half.  Strange  as  it 
may  seem,  the  axis  of  a  West  India  hurricane  in 
conformity  with  Mr.  Eedfield's  theory,  and  a  K  W. 
progression,  has  never  been  found,  with  perhaps  a 


258  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

single  exception,  in  any  one  of  winch  I  have  seen 
a  description.  On  the  west  coast  of  Europe,  the  gale 
is  commonly  from,  the  Atlantic,  either  following 
under  the  storm  from  the  S.  W.,  or  blowing  in 
diagonally  from  the  W.  or  N.  W. ;  the  N.  E.  wind 
of  western  Europe  being  a  cold,  dry  wind,  which  there 
is  reason  to  believe  has  been  around  the  Siberian 
pole  and  is  returning,  as  the  cold  northerly  winds  of 
the  North  Pacific  have  around  the  North  American 
magnetic  pole.  "If  the  N.  E.  winds  always  pre- 
vailed," says  Kiimtz,  speaking  of  Berlin,  "even  at  a 
considerable  height  it  would  never  rain."  This  was 
based  on  an  observation  of  showers,  and  not  fully 
reliable.  But  the  dry  and  cool  character  of  the  N. 
E.  wind  of  western  Europe  is  unquestionable.  The 
S.  E.  wind  is  also  a  storm  wind,  but  owing  to  the 
character  of  the  surface  from  which  it  is  attracted,  it 
is  not  as  violent  as  the  westerly  winds  are. 

Such,  too,  is  the  general  course  and  character  of 
the  side  wind  in  the  southern  hemisphere.  There 
gales  are  less  frequent,  the  magnetic  intensity  is  less, 
the  counter- trades  are  less;  it  is  not  in  "the  order 
of  Providence"  that  as  much  rain  shall  fall  there. 
Nevertheless,  gales  occur,  although  rarely,  if  ever, 
with  equal  violence.  About  New  Holland,  where 
storms  are  pursuing  a  S.  E.  course,  they  have  the  wind 
N.  E.,  corresponding  to  our  S.  E.,  veering  from 
thence,  by  the  north,  to  the  westward,  clearing  off  from 
S.  W.,  with  a  rising  barometer,  as  ours  do  from  N.  W. 

In  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  the 
Arabian  Sea,  there  is  more  irregularity. 


THE    WEATHER.  259 

But  the  law  of  progress  and  lateral  winds  can  be 
distinctly  traced  as  present  and  prevailing,  notwith- 
standing the  irregularities.  Our  limits  do  not  per- 
mit an  analysis.  In  the  celebrated  case  of  the  Charles 
Heddle,  there  was  much  evidence  to_  show  that  she 
was  driven  across  the  front  of  tho  storm  by  one 
lateral  wind,  and  back  by  another.  (Diagram  of 
Colonel  Eeid,  p.  206.) 

The  waters  of  the  Indian  Ocean  are  hot  and  con- 
fined. Storms  there  are  often  composed  of  detached 
masses,  move  slower — sometimes  not  more  than  three 
or  four  miles  an  hour — and  they  curve  over  the 
ocean,  where  it  is  hotter  than  in  any  similar  latitude. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  all  peculiarities  and  irregulari- 
ties, the  law  we  have  been  considering  is  probably  the 
.prevailing  law  there. 

No  man  knows  better  the  existence  of  these  differ- 
ent currents  than  Mr.  Kedfield.  Doubtless  it  has 
escaped  his  attention  that  the  upper  of  two,  after  the 
passage  of  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  storm, 
becomes  the  lower,  and  causes  a  seeming  change  of 
the  same  wind. 

In  a  series  of  elaborate  articles,  substantially  re- 
viewing the  whole  subject,  published  in  the  American 
Journal  of  Science,  for  1846,  he  says : 

"  In  nearly  all  great  storms  which  are  accompanied  with  rain,  there 
appear  two  distinct  classes  of  clouds,  one  of  which,  comprising  the 
storm  scuds  in  tho  active  portion  of  tho  gale,  has  already  been 
noticed.  Above  this  is  an  extended  stratum  of  stratus  cloud,  which 
is  found  moving  with  the  general  or  local  current  of  the  lower  atmos- 
phere which  overlies  the  storm.  It  covers  not  only  the  area  of  rain, 
but  often  extends  greatly  beyond  this  limit,  over  a  part  of  the  dry 
portion  of  the  storm,  partly  in  a  broken  or  detached  state.  Thia 


260  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

stratus  cloud  is  often  concealed  from  view  by  the  nimbus,  and  scud 
clouds  in  the  rainy  portion  of  the  storm,  but  by  careful  observations, 
may  be  sufficiently  noticed  to  determine  the  general  uniformity  of  its 
specific  course,  and,  approximately,  its  general  elevation. 

"The  more  usual  course  of  this  extended  cloud  stratum,  in  the 
United  States,  is  from  some  point  in  the  horizon  between  S.  S.  "W. 
and  W.  S.  W.  Its  course  and  velocity  do  not  appear  influenced  in 
any  perceptible  degree  by  the  activity  or  direction  of  the  storm-wind 
which  prevails  beneath  it.  On  the  posterior  or  dry  side  of  the  gale, 
it  often  disappears  before  the  arrival  of  the  newly  condensed  cumuli 
and  cumulo-stratus  which  not  unfrequently  float  in  the  colder  winds, 
on  this  side  of  the  gale." 

"  The  general  height  of  the  great  stratus  cloud  which  covers  a 
storm,  in  those  parts  of  the  United  States  which  are  near  the  At- 
lantic, can  not  differ  greatly  from  one  mile ;  and  perhaps  is  oftener 
below  than  above  this  elevation.  This  estimate,  which  is  founded  on 
much  observation  and  comparison,  appears  to  comprise,  at  the  least, 
the  limit  or  thickness  of  the  proper  storm-wind,  which  constitutes 
the  revolving  gale. 

It  is  not  supposed,  however,  that  this  disk-like  stratum  of  revolv- 
ing wind  is  of  equal  height  or  thickness  throughout  its  extent,  nor 
that  it  always  reaches  near  to  the  main  canopy  of  stratus  cloud.  It 
is  probably  higher  in  the  more  central  portions  of  the  gale  than  near 
its  borders,  in  the  low  latitudes,  than  in  the  higher,  and  may  thin 
out  entirely  at  the  extremes,  except  in  those  directions  where  it  co- 
incides with  an  ordinary  current.  Moreover,  in  large  portions  of  its 
area,  there  may  be,  and  often  is,  more  than  one  storrn-wind  overlying 
another,  and  severally  pertaining  to  contiguous  storms.  In  the  pres- 
ent case,  we  see,  from  the  observations  of  Professor  Snell  and  Mr. 
Herrick,  at  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  and  at  Hamden,  Maine  (115  and 
135  b.),  that  the  true  storm  wind,  at  those  places,  was  super-imposed 
on  another  wind ;  and  various  facts  and  observations  may  be  ad- 
duced to  show  that  brisk  winds,  of  great  horizontal  extent,  are  often 
limited,  vertically  to  a  very  thin  sheet  or  stratum." 

Much  of  the  foregoing  is  "graphically  described, 
and  unquestionably  true.  Bat  it  may  well  be  asked 
how  he,  or  others,  distinguish  which  of  two  or  more 
currents  (for  there  are  frequently  three,  and  some- 
times four  visible),  are  the  true  currents  of  the  storm, 
and  which  interlopers  from  another  storm  ?  Is  the 


THE    WEATHER.  261 

true  one  always  the  upper  one,  and  why  ?  If  the 
upper  one,  why  is  the  interloper  at  the  surface  noted 
and  quoted  to  prove  what  a  storm  is  ?  How  does  he 
know  what  proportions  of  the  winds  he  has  recorded 
to  show  the  revolving  motion  of  gales,  were  the  true 
storm  winds  of  the  particular  storm  ?  or,  that  every 
one  of  them  was  not  an  interloping  wind  on  which 
the  true  storm  wind  was  superimposed  ? 

These  inquiries  are  pertinent,  for  obviously,  unless 
some  rule  for  distinguishing  between  the  currents  is 
given,  and  there  t?e  evidence  of  direct  observation 
to  show  that  the  surface  wind,  whose  direction  is 
noted,  is-  the  true  wind  of  the  storm,  and  that  the 
latter  is  not  superimposed,  no  reliance  can  be  placed 
upon  logs,  or  newspaper  accounts,  or  registers.  There 
is  another  element  besides  direction,  viz.  :  super- 
imposition,  a  determination  of  which  is  essential  to 
truth.  It  will  be  difficult  for  Mr.  Bedfield  to  say  that 
a  determination  of  that  element  has  been  made,  with 
certainty,  in  a  single  storm  he  has  investigated ;  and  in 
relation  to  the  convergence  of  storms,  and  blending, 
and  superimposition  of  their  winds,  I  think  he  is 
mistaken. 

Mr.  Eedfield  is  right  in  saying  (American  Journal 
of  Science,  vol.  ii.,  new  series,  p.  321)  that  "too 
much  reliance  may  be  placed  upon  mere  observations 
of  the  surface  winds  in  meteorological  inquiries," 
and  yet  they  only  have  thus  far  been  regarded,  and 
he  has  proved  gyration  in  no  other  way.  I  have 
frequently,  with  a  vane  in  sight,  asked  intelligent 
men  how  the  wind  was,  and  been  amused  and  in- 


262  THE     PHILOSOPHY    OF 

structed  by  their  inability  to  state  it  correctly.  Mr. 
Kedfield,  in  his  inquiries,  often  found  two  reports  of 
the  weather  at  the  same  time,  from  the  same  place, 
materially  different ;  and  I  have  known,  from  my 
own  observation,  aewspapers  and  meteorological  reg- 
isters to  be  several  points  out  of  the  way  ;  and  this, 
because  the  vanes  are  influenced  by  local  elevations, 
and  change  several  points,  and  very  often ;  because 
few  know  the  exact  points  of  the  compass  in  their 
own  localities,  and  because  entire  accuracy  has  not 
been  deemed  essential.  For  these*reasons,  newspaper 
and  telegraphic  reports  are  not  always  reliable ;  and 
therefore,  and  because,  also,  storm- winds  are  easterly 
and  fair  winds  westerly,  and  the  former  veer  from 
east  around  to  west,  on  one  or  both  sides  in  many 
cases,  there  are  few  storms  which  can  not  be  repre- 
sented as  whirlwinds,  by  a  proper  selection  of  reports, 
a  corresponding  location  of  the  center,  and  an  extension 
of  the  lines  of  supposed  gyration,  so  as  to  include 
the  preceding  winds,  the  actual  winds  of  the  storm, 
and  the  lateral,  and  succeeding  fair  weather  ones. 

But,  again,  Mr.  Eedfield  is  right  in  saying  there  is, 
in  such  cases,  "  an  extended  stratum  of  stratus  cloud," 
and  it  is  always  present.  But  why  does  he  say  this 
covers  the  storm  ?  Is  it  distinct  from  it,  and  if  so, 
what  is  it  doing  there  ?  What  power  placed  it  there, 
and  for  what  purpose  ?  Has  this  extended  stratum 
of  cloud,  which  forms  the  canopy  of  a  vast  cham- 
ber— five  hundred  to  one  thousand  miles  in  diameter, 
and  less  than  .two  miles  in  vertical  depth,  while  the 
earth  forms  the  floor — any  agency  in  producing  the 


THE    WEATHER.  263 

whirl  that  is  supposed  to  be  going  on  within  it,  and 
if  so,  what?  Has  the  earth  any  agency,  and  if  so, 
•what  ?  If  neither  the  ceiling  nor  floor  of  the  cham- 
ber have  any  agency  in  producing  it,  what  does? 
Are  we  to  consider  the  storm-scud  as  possessing  the 
power,  and  as  waltzing  around  the  aerial  chamber, 
carrying  the  air  with  them  in  a  hurricane-dance  of 
devastation  ?  What,  in  short,  is  the  power -,  and  how  is 
it  exerted  ? 

To  these  questions,  Mr.  Redfield's  essays  furnish 
no  comprehensive  answer.  There  is  an  intimation 
that  the  cause  of  storms  will  be,  at  some  future  day, 
developed.  One  attempt,  and  but  one,  has  thus  far 
been  made,  and  that  I  quote  entire  : 

"  We  have  seen  that  the  two  Cuba  storms,  as  well  as  the  Mexican 
northers,  have  appeared  to  come  from  the  contiguous  border  of  tho 
Pacific  Ocean. 

"  Now,  are  there  any  peculiarities  in  the  winds  and  aerial  currents 
of  those  regions,  which  may  serve  to  induce  or  support  a  leftwise  ro- 
tation in  extensive  portions  of  the  lower  atmosphere,  while  moving 
on,  or  near  the  earth's  surface  ?  I  apprehend  there  are  such  peculiar- 
ities, which  have  an  extensive,  constant,  and  powerful  influence. 
First,  we  find  on  the  eastern  portion  of  tho  Pacific,  from  upper  Cali- 
fornia to  near  the  Bay  of  Panama,  an  almost  constant  prevalenco 
of  north-westerly  winds  at  the  earth's  surface.  Next,  we  have  an 
equally  constant  wind  from  tho  southern  and  south-western  quarter, 
which,  having  swept  the  western  coast  of  South  America,  extends  across 
the  equator  to  the  vicinity  of  Panama,  thus  meeting,  and  commonly 
over-sliding  the  above-mentioned  westerly  winds,  and  tending  to  a 
deflection  or  rotation  of  the  same,  from  right  to  left.  As  this  influ- 
ence may  thus  become  extended  to  the  Caribbean  or  Honduras  Sea, 
we  have,  next,  the  upper  or  S.  E.  trade  of  this  sea,  which  is  here  fre- 
quently a  surface-wind,  and  must  tend  to  aid  and  quicken  the  gyra- 
tive  movement,  ascribed  to  the  two  previous  winds ;  and  lastly  wo 
have  the  N.  E.  or  lower  trade,  from  the  tropic,  which,  coinciding  with 
the  northern  front  of  the  gyration,  serves  still  further  to  promote  tho 
revolving  movement  which  may  thus  result  from  the  partial  coalesc- 


264  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

ence  of  theso  great  winds  of  Central  America,  and  the  contiguous 
seas. 

Thus,  while  a  great  storm  is,  in  part,  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  its 
N.  E.  wind  may  be  felt  in  great  force  on  that  side  of  the  continent, 
through  the  great  gorges  or  depressions  near  the  bays  of  Papagayo 
or  Tehuantepec,  as  noticed  by  Humboldt,  Captain  Basil  Hall,  and 
others,  the  elevations  which  there  separate  the  two  seas  being  but 
inconsiderable ;  and,  when  the  gyration  is  once  perfected,  the  whole 
mass  will  gradually  assume  the  movement  of  the  predominant  cur- 
rent, which  is  generally  the  higher  one,  and  will  move  off  with  it, 
integrally,  as  we  see  in  the  cases  of  the  vortices,  which  are  success- 
ively found  in  particular  portions  of  a  stream,  where  subject  to  dis- 
turbing influences." 

The  analogy  between  this  and  the  theory  of  Pro- 
fessor Dove,  cited  above,  and  prior,  in  point  of  time, 
is  obvious.  They  are  substantially  alike  in  principle, 
with  different  locations.  They  differ  also  in  this,  Pro- 
fessor Dove  appears  to  think  something  more  than 
over-sliding  necessary,  and  assigns  the  duty  of  crowd- 
ing the  upper  current  down  in  to  the  lower,  to  make  an 
encounter,  to  a  lateral  overflow  from  Africa.  Mr.  Red- 
field  seems  to  think  there  maybe  a  tendency  to  deflec- 
tion when  they  "  over-slide"  each  other.  They  are  both 
closet  hypotheses,  the  poetry  of  meteorology,  with 
something  more  than  poetical  license  as  to  facts. 

In  the  first  place,  no  such  concurring  winds  exist  in 
the  same  locality  at  the  same  time.  When  the  inter- 
tropical  belt  of  rains  is  over  Central  America  and 
Southern  Mexico,  a  S.  "W.  monsoon  blows  in  under 
it,  but  it  usurps  the  place  of  all  other  surface  winds ; 
and,  when  the  belt  is  absent,  that  portion  of  the  east- 
ern Pacific  is  most  remarkably  calm,  or  is  covered  by 
the  N.  E.  trades.  Secondly,  the  trade-winds  every 
where  pursue  their  appointed  course  wiiJiout  "  tendency 


THE    WEATHER.  265 

to  deflection^  by  the  meeting,  or  "  over-sliding"  or  "  break- 
ing i/?,"  or  "  encounttr,"  of  other  winds.  The  great 
]aws  of  circulation  do  not  admit  of  any  such,  confu- 
sion. And,  lastly,  no  storm  ever  came  over  the  eastern 
United  /States  from  tfiat  quarter.  The  unchangeable 
laws  of  atmospheric  circulation  forbid  it.  Recent 
observations  also  have  shown  that  the  storms  on  the 
west  coast  of  Central  America,  and  the  eastern 
Pacific,  pursue  a  1ST.  W.  course,  precisely  as  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  every  where  over  the  surface-trades 
of  the  northern  hemisphere.  Indeed  Mr.  Redfidd 
himself  has  recently  investigated  several  of  them,  and 
admits  their  course  to  be  north-westerly.  (See  American 
Journal  of  Science,  new  scries,  vol.  xviii.  p.  181.) 

But,  suppose  the  co-existence  of  the  winds  and  the 
course  of  the  storms  admitted  as-  claimed,  let  us  seek 
for  clearer  views.  What  do  these  gentlemen  mean  ? 
Do  they  intend  to  have  us  believe  the  air  has  inher- 
ent moving  power,  and  that  the  "  tendency"  of  which 
they  speak  is  an  attribute  of  the  winds,  and  that 
when  they  thus  meet,  and  "  como  into  each  other," 
"  encounter,"  or  "  over-slide,"  and  become  acquainted, 
they  wheel  into  a  waltz,  and  movo  off  northward, 
"  integrally,"  with  unceasing  circular  movement,  even 
until  they  arrive  at  the  Arctic  circle  ?  Or  is  it  a 
mere  mechanical  effect  of  meeting,  "  coming  into  each 
other,"  or  "  over-sliding ??)  If  the  latter,  why  a  ten- 
dency to  rotation  from  right  to  left?  The  trade- 
winds,  at  least,  arc  continuous,  unbroken  sheets,  and 
not  disconnected  portions  which  meet  and  blow  past 
each  other,  and  there  is  no  warrant  for  placing  them 

12 


266  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

side  and  side,  and  attributing  to  them  any  such  me- 
chanical effect,  and  as  little  respecting  the  other 
winds.  Outside  of  the  fanciful  hypothesis,  there  are 
no  facts  to  show  such  a  tendency  one  way  rather  than 
the  other ;  and,  in  accordance  with  the  known  facts 
regarding  stratification  of  the  currents  of  air,  no  such 
"  tendency"  can  exist. 

But  what  power  impels  the  winds,  which  thus  meet 
at  these  points  ?  If  they  be  impelled,  is  it  consistent 
with  the  action  of  this  power  that  the  winds  it  has 
created  and  controls,  should  thus  assume  an  opposite 
11  tendency,"  and  whirl  away  to  the  north-eastward, 
regardless  of  the  power  that  originated  and  controls 
them  ?  "What  must  this  "  tendency"  be,  which  thus 
occasionally  not  only  diverts  the  winds  from  the  usually 
regular  course  given  them  by  their  originating  power, 
but  increases  their  action,  from  gentle,  ordinary  winds, 
to  hurricanes  ?  Nay,  which  gives  them  a  new,  resistless 
gyratory  and  electric  energy,  increasing  as  the  new,  in- 
dependent, supposed  cyclonic  organization  moves  off, 
"  integrally"  away  from  "  the  home  of  its  many 
fathers,"  on  a  devastating  journey  towards  the  north 
pole? 

And,  further,  if  all  this  were  true  as  to  the  West 
Indies  and  Central  America,  what  is  to  be  said  of  the 
billions  of  other  storms,  originating  on  a  thousand 
other  portions  of  the  earth's  surface,  and  how  are 
they  to  be  accounted  for,  inasmuch  as  such  other 
"  meetings,"  "  coming  into  each  other,"  and  "  over- 
sliding,"  and  "tendency  to  deflection,"  is  not  assumed 
to  exist  ? 


THE    WEATHER.  267 

These  questions  cannot  be  satisfactorily  answered. 
The  distinguished  theorists  are  mistaken.  The  stratus- 
cloud  does  not  over-lie  or  cover  the  storm.  IT  is  THE 
STORM.  The  winds  beneath,  whether  surface  or  super- 
imposed, are  but  its  incidents,  due  to  its  static  induc- 
tion and  attraction.  Their  direction  depends  on  the 
shape  of  the  storm  cloud,  and  its  course  of  progres- 
sion, and  the  susceptibility  of  the  surface  atmosphere 
in  this  direction  or  that,  to  its  inductive  and  attract- 
ive influence.  Their  force  to  its  depth,  its  contiguity 
to  the  earth,  and  the  intensity  of  its  action  ;  and  the 
scud,  are  but  patches  of  condensation,  occasioned  by 
the  same  inductive  action  which  affects  and  attracts 
the  surface  current  in  which  they  form. 

Another  objection  to  Mr.  Eedfield's  theory  of  gyra- 
tion is  based  upon  the  fact  that  in  order  to  constitute 
his  storm,  to  get  the  gyration,  he  has  to  include,  at 
least,  an  equal  amount,  generally  a  great  deal  more, 
of  fair  weather.  The  N".  W.  wind,  the  "  posterior,  or 
dry  side  of  the  gale,"  as  he  calls  it  (in  the  foregoing 
extract),  is  a  fair  iceather  wind.  It  is  necessary ',  how- 
ever, to  complete  the  supposed  circle,  and  it  is  pressed 
into  the  service.  The  practical  answer  given  to  the 
question,  "what  are  storms?"  is,  they  are  cyclones, 
part  storm,  so  called,  and  part  fair  weatlier ;  that  is, 
the  stratus-cloud,  the  scud,  the  easterly  wind,  and 
rain  or  snow  of  day  before  yesterday,  were  the  wet 
side,  or  front  part  of  the  storm,  and  the  sunshine, 
clear  sky,  and  1ST.  W.  wind  of  yesterday,  to-day,  and, 
perhaps,  to-inorrow,  are  the  posterior  or  dry  side. 
When  a  storm  clears  off  from  the  N.  W.  it  is  not 


268  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OP 

over,  it  is,  perhaps,  just  begun ;  and,  inasmuch  as  it 
storms  again,  very  soon  after  the  wind  changes  back 
from  the  N.  W.  to  the  southward,  in  winter,  our 
weather  then  is  pretty  much  all  storms. 

The  statement  of  this  claim  seems  so  absurd  that 
it  may  appear  like  injustice  to  make  it.  But  gyration 
can  not  be  made  out  without  it,  and  it  is  evident  in 
the  extract  quoted  above ;  in  the  claim  that  the 
winter  northers  of  the  Mexican  Gulf  are  parts  of 
passing  storms ;  and  clearly  and  unequivocally  ad- 
vanced as  a  distinct  proposition,  as  follows : 

"1.  The  body  of  the  gale  usually  comprises  an 
area  of  rain  or  foul  weather,  together  with  another, 
and,  perhaps  equal,  or  greater,  area  of  fair  or  bright 
weather."  (Am.  Jour,  of  Science,  vol.  xlii.  p.  114.) 

Now,  in  the  first  place,  we  must  distinguish  be- 
tween a  storm  and  fair  weather,  before  we  can  tell 
what  the  former  is;  and  it  is  difficult  to  assent  to  a 
theory  which  explains  what  a  S.  E.  storm  of  twelve 
hours1  continuance  is,  by  including  two  or  three  days  of 
succeeding  N.  W.  fair  weather  wind,  as  a  part  of  it. 
There  is  no  proportionate  relation  as  to  time,  nor  any 
relation  as  to  qualities,  or  the  attending  conditions  of 
the  atmosphere,  nor  any  conceivable  connection,  ex- 
cept the  hypothetical  one  of  gyration,  between  the 
two  winds. 

And,  in  the  second  place,  it  is  true,  and  Mr.  Bed- 
field  is  well  aware  of  the  fact,  that  winds  often  blow 
for  many  days  from  the  N.  E.,  S.  W.,  or  N.  W.,  with- 
out any  preceding  or  succeeding  winds  to  which  they 
have  any  discoverable  relation.  If,  therefore,  truth 


THE    "WEATHER.  269 

-would  justify  Mr.  Eedfiekl  in  including  the  fair  wea- 
ther wind,  a  difficulty  would  remain  which  his  theory 
does  not  cover  or  explain. 

No  American,  except  Mr.  Kedfield, -has  been  able 
to  discover  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  gyration  of 
storms,  by  actual  careful  observation,  or  a  careful  un- 
biased collation  of  the  observation  of  others.  Pro- 
fessor Coffin  is  reported  to  have  read  to  the  Scientific 
Association,  at  their  Buffalo  meeting,  a  paper,  con- 
firmatory, in  part,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  see  it. 
The  tracks  of  tornados  have  been  searched  as  with 
candles.  "When  they  have  been  narrow,  from  forty 
to  eighty  rods,  their  action  has  been  substantially 
similar,  and,  although,  as  we  have  herein  before  stated, 
some  irregularities  have  been  found  which  were  con- 
sistent with  gyration — for  irregularities  attend  the 
violent  action  of  all  forces,  and  particularly  the  mo- 
tion of  electricity  through  the  atmosphere,  as  every 
one  who  has  seen  the  zig-zag  course  of  a  flash  of 
lightning  knows — jet  the  evidence  of  two  lateral  in- 
ward currents,  or  lines  of  force,  has  predominated 
over  all  others.  In  all  cases,  where  the  path  is  nar- 
row, those  lateral  currents  are  the  actors ;  they  con- 
stitute the  tornado ;  their  irregularities  of  action  pro- 
duce the  exceptions ;  but  the  exceptions  are  neither 
numerous  nor  uniform,  and  do  not  prove  either  the 
theory  of  Mr.  Espy  or  that  of  Mr.  Kedfield.  The 
action  is  not  that  of  moving  air,  merely,  but  of  a 
power  exceeding  in  force  that  of  powder,  which 
nothing  but  electricity  or  magnetism  can  exert.  As 
the  path  widens,  the  'wind  becomes  more  like  the 


270  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

straight-line  gust  which  follows  beneath  the  ordinary 
severe  thunder-showers.  His  theory  finds  no  sub- 
stantial confirmation  or  support  in  the  path  of  the 
tornado. 

Several  storms  were  investigated  by  Professor 
Espy,  some  of  them  the  same  which  Mr.  Ked- 
field  had  attempted  to  show  were  of  a  rotary  char- 
acter; one  or  two  by  the  Franklin  Institute  of 
Philadelphia ;  one  by  Professor  Loomis,  already  al- 
luded to;  and  recently,  two  by  Lieutenant  Porter, 
from  logs  returned  to  the  National  Observatory.  None 
of  these  investigations  confirm  the  theory  of  Mr.  Eed- 
field.  Indeed,  Mr.  Eedfield  himself  has  found  it  neces- 
sary to  resort  to  suppositions  of  modifying  causes  to  ex- 
plain the  evident  inconsistencies.  It  is  assumed  that 
the  axis,  or  center,  oscillates,  and  describes  a  series  of 
circles ;  and  thus,  one  class  of  difficulties  is  avoided. 
Again,  it  is  assumed  that  simultaneous  storms  con- 
verge and  blend  upon  the  same  field,  and  another 
class  of  difficulties  are  surmounted.  And,  again,  in- 
asmuch as  it  is  notorious  that  violent  gales  are  rarely 
if  ever  felt  with  equal  violence  around  the  area  of  a 
circle,  but  from  one  or  two  points  only,  it  is  assumed, 
that  the  storm  winds  ascend,  superimpose,  and  de- 
scend again,  when  they  return  to  the  place  of  their 
first  violent  action,  etc.  The  simple  truth  requires  no 
such  resort  to  modifying  hypothesis. 

Still,  another  objection  is,  that  the  changes  in  the 
barometer,  which  occur  before,  during,  and  after 
storms,  do  not  sustain  the  claims  of  Mr.  Kedfield  or 
the  requirements  of  his  theory. 


THE    WEATHER.  271 

The  barometer  sometimes  rises  before  storms.  It 
generally  commences  falling  about  the  time,  or  soon 
after  the  storm  sets  in,  continues  to  fall  during  its 
progress,  and  rises  again,  sooner  or  later,  afterward. 
This  is  the  general  rule. 

On  this  subject  Mr.  Redfield's  claim  is  this : 

"EFFECT  OP  THE  GALE'S  ROTATION  ON  THE  BAROMETER. — Tho 
extraordinary  fall  of  the  mercury  in  the  barometer,  which  takes  place 
in  gales  or  tempests,  has  attracted  attention  since  the  earliest  use  of 
this  instrument  by  meteorologists.  But  I  am  not  aware  that  the 
principal  cause  of  this  depression  had  ever  been  pointed  out,  previ- 
ously to  my  first  publication  in  this  journal,  ia  April,  1831,  when  I 
took  the  occasion  to  notice  this  result  as  being  obviously  due  to  tho 
centrifugal  force  of  the  revolving  motion  found  in  the  body  of  the 
storm. 

11  Since  that  period,  inquiries  have  been  continued  by  meteorologists 
in  regard  to  the  periodical  and  other  fluctuations  of  the  barometer,  and 
the  relations  of  these  fluctuations  to  temperature  and  aqueous  vapor. 
But  these  incidental  causes  of  variation,  in  the  atmospheric  pressure, 
prove  to  be  of  minor  influence,  and  we  are  left  to  the  sufficient  and 
only  satisfactory  solution  of  this  marked  phenomenon  which  is  found 
in  the  centrifugal  force  of  rotation." 

The  average  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  at  the 
surface  of  the  ocean,  or  in  the  interior  of  the  country, 
allowing  for  elevation,  is  about  equal  to  the  weight 
of  a  column  of  quicksilver,  thirty  inches  in  height; 
hence  the  barometer  is  said  to  stand  at  about  thirty 
inches  at  the  level  of  the  sea. 

This  is  sufficiently  accurate  for  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere, north  of  the  N.  E.  trades ;  but  the  average  is 
somewhat  lower  in  the  trades  and  in  the  southern 
hemisphere.  Thus,  the  average  of  sixteen  months, 
during  which  the  Grinnell  expedition  was  absent, 
•was  30. 


272  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OP 

From  a  large  number  of  logs  examined  by  Lieu- 
tenant Maury,  tho  mean  elevation  in  the  N.  E.  trades 
of  the  Atlantic  was  29.rVff ;  tho  S.  E.  trades  of  tho 
Atlantic,  29.TVV ;  off  Cape  Horn,  29.  fl&  ;  S.  E.  trades 
of  the  Pacific,  30.rVv  5  ^.  E.  trades  of  the  Pacific, 
29.rVo-  The  height  of  the  barometer  off  Cape  Horn 
is  not  a  fair  index  of  the  general  elevation  of  the 
southern  hemisphere,  inasmuch  as  it  stands  lower 
there  than  at  the  coast  of  Patagonia  and  Chili,  or  at 
most,  if  not  all,  other  stations  in  that  hemisphere. 

As  the  barometer  is  constantly  oscillating  up  and 
down  (irrespective  of  its  diurnal  oscillation),  it  has 
no  known  fair  weather  standard.  The  point  of  £0 
inches  is  taken  only  as  it  is  a  mean.  I  have  known 
it  to  commence  storming  when  the  barometer  was  at 
CO. 70,  and  not  to  fall  before  it  cleared  off,  below 
30.30.  And  I  have  known  it  to  bo  below  30  for 
several  clays  consecutively,  with  fair  weather.  In 
our  climate  there  is  no  reliable  fair  weather  standard 
for  the  barometer.  It  falls  below  30  without  storm- 
ing ;  it  ris^s  far  above,  and  storms  without  falling 
below.  No  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  its  eleva- 
tion, except  by  comparison  ;  but  of  that  hereafter. 

The  general  rule,  nevertheless,  is,  that  it  falls  more 
or  less  during  storms,  whatever  its  height,  and  rises 
sooner  or  later,  more  or  less,  after  they  clear  off. 

The  difference  between  its  highest  and  lowest  points 
is  called  its  range.  The  greatest  range  observed,  and 
recorded,  is  about  3  inches — from  about  28  to  31 — 
but  this  range  is  rare.  The  range,  in  the  trade-wind 
region,  is  comparatively  small;  in  this  country  it 


THE    WEATHER.  273 

is  greater  than  in  Europe ;  and,  generally,  the  range 
vail  be  found  greatest  where  the  volume  of  counter- 
trade, and  magnetic  intensity,  and  the  corresponding 
amount  of  precipitation,  and  extremes  of  heat  and 
cold  are  greatest.  One  of  the  greatest  ranges  dur- 
ing one  storm,  or  two  successive  portions  of  a 
storm,  in  this  country,  which  I  have  seen  recorded, 
occurred  at  Boston,  in  February,  1842.  It  was  as 
follows — counting  the  hours  as  24,  and  from  mid- 
night : 

Feb.  15..  10h..  30. 36. 

"  16. .13h.. 28.47  fall  of  1.89  in  27  hours. 
"  17..19h..30.39  rise  of  1.92  in  30  hours. 
"  18..  2!i.. 30.39  stationary  5  hours. 

"     19..  2h.. 29.46  fall   of    0.93  in  24  hours. 
••    20..  2h.. 30.43  rife  of    0.97  in  24  hours. 
Amount  of  oscillation,  5.71  in  4  days,  11  hours. 

These  ranges  were  owing  to  the  alternation  of  S.  E. 
storms,  and  N.  "W.  winds. 

Taking  the  first  range  as  a  basis,  and  allowing  the 
height  of  the  atmosphere  to  be  1,100  feet  for  the 
first  inch,  we  have  nearly  2,000  feet  displaced  during 
one  day,  if  we  look  for  the  displacement  near  the 
earth,  or  some  30  or  35  miles,  if  we  soar  aloft  in  the 
upper  regions  to  look  for  the  lateral  overflow  of  Pro- 
fessor Dove,  and  about  the  same  quantity  restored 
the  next.  This  brings  us  to  the  inquiry,  how  was  it 
done  ?  It  is  perfectly  idle  to  talk  about  difference  of 
temperature  or  tension  of  vapor,  the  ascent  of  warm  air, 
or  descent  of  cold  in  a  case  like  this ;  or  to  say  that 
they  were  occasioned  by  a  lateral  overflow  of  some 
thirty  miles  of  its  upper  portion,  first  this  way  and 
then  that,  in  such  a  brief  space  of  time.  The  change 

12* 


274  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

is  equal  to  nearly  T!j  of  the  weight  of  the  whole  at- 
mosphere, and  the  cause,  whatever  it  was,  existed 
within  two  or  three  miles  of  the  earth.  Mr.  Ked- 
field's  explanation  I  give  in  his  own  words,  at  length : 

"  One  of  the  most  important  deductions  which  may  be  drawn 
from  the  facts  and  explications  which  are  now  submitted,  is  an  ex- 
planation of  the  causes  which  produce  the  fall  of  the  barometer  on 
the  approach  of  a  storm.  This  effect  we  ascribe  to  the  centrifugal 
tendency  or  action  which  pertains  to  all  revolving  or  rotary  move- 
ments, and  which  must  operate  with  great  energy  and  effect  upon  so 
extensive  a  mass  of  atmosphere  as  that  which  constitutes  a  storm. 
Let  a  cylindrical  vessel,  of  any  considerable  magnitude,  be  partially 
filled  with  water,  and  let  the  rotative  motion  be  communicated  to  the 
fluid,  by  passing  a  rod  repeatedly  through  its  mass,  in  a  circular 
course.  In  conducting  this  experiment,  we  shall  find  that  the  sur- 
face of  the  fluid  immediately  becomes  depressed  by  the  centrifugal 
action,  except  on  its  exterior  portions,  where,  owing  merely  to  the 
resistance  which  is  opposed  by  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  it  will  rise 
above  its  natural  level,  the  fluid  exhibiting  the  character  of  a  minia- 
ture vortex  or  whirlpool.  Let  this  experiment  be  carefully  repeated, 
by  passing  the  propelling  rod  around  the  exterior  of  the  fluid  mass,  in 
continued  contact  with  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  thus  producing  tho 
whole  rotative  impulse,  by  an  external  force,  analagous  to  that  which 
we  suppose  to  influence  the  gyration  of  storms  and  hurricanes,  and 
we  shall  still  find  a  corresponding  result,  beautifully  modified,  how- 
ever, by  the  quiescent  properties  of  the  fluid ;  for,  instead  of  tho 
deep  and  rapid  vortex  before  exhibited,  we. shall  have  a  concave  de- 
pression of  the  surface,  of  great  regularity ;  and,  by  the  aid  of  a  few 
suspended  particles,  may  discover  the  increased  degree  of  rotation, 
which  becomes  gradually  imparted  to  the  more  central  portions  of  tho 
revolving  fluid.  The  last-mentioned  result  obviates  the  objection, 
which,  at  the  first  view,  might,  perhaps,  be  considered  as  opposed  to 
our  main  conclusion,  grounded  on  the  supposed  equability  of  rotation, 
in  both  the  interior  and  exterior  portions  of  the  revolving  body,  like 
that  which  pertains  to  a  wheel,  or  other  solid.  It  is  most  obvious, 
however,  that  all  fluid  masses  are,  in  their  gyrations,  subject  to  a  dif- 
ferent law,  as  is  exemplified  in  the  foregoing  experiment ;  and  this 
difference,  or  departure  from  the  law  of  solids,  is  doubtless  greater  in 
aeriform  fluids  than  in  those  of  a  denser  character. 

"  The  whole  experiment  serves  to  demonstrate  that  such  an  active 
gyration  as  we  have  ascribed  to  storms,  and  have  proved,  as  we 


THE    WEATHER.  275 

deem,  to  appertain  to  some,  at  least,  of  the  more  violent  class;  must 
necessarily  expand  and  spread  out,  by  its  centrifugal  action,  the  stratum 
of  atmosphere  subject  to  its  influence,  and  which  must,  consequently,  be- 
come flattened  or  depressed  by  this  lateral  movement,  particularly  to- 
ward the  vortex  or  center  of  the  storm ;  lessening  thereby  the  weight 
of  the  incumbent  fluid,  and  producing  a  consequent  fall  of  the  mercury 
in  the  barometrical  tube.  This  effect  must  increase,  till  the  gravity 
of  the  circumjacent  atmosphere,  superadded  to  that  of  the  storm  it- 
self, shall,  by  its  counteracting  effect,  have  produced  an  equilibrium 
in  the  two  forces.  Should  there  bo  no  overlaying  current  in  the 
higher  regions,  moving  in  a  direction  different  from  that  which  con- 
tains the  storm,  the  rotative  effect  may,  perhaps,  be  extended  into 
the  region  of  perpetual  congelation,  till  the  medium  becomes  too  raro 
to  receive  its  influence.  But  whatever  maybe  the  limit  of  this  gyra- 
tion, its  effect  must  be  to  depress  the  cold  stratum  of  the  upper  atmos- 
phere, particularly  toward  the  more  central  portions  of  the  storm ; 
and,  by  thus  bringing  it  in  contact  with  the  humid  stratum  of  tho 
surface,  to  produce  a  permanent  and  continuous  stratum  of  clouds, 
together  with  a  copious  supply  of  rain,  or  a  deposition  of  congelated 
vapor,  according  to  the  state  of  the  temperature  prevailing  in  the 
lower  region." 

The  italics  in  tho  foregoing  extract  are  mine ;  and, 
in  relation  to  it,  I  observe  : 

1st.  There  is  no  cylindrical  vessel  around  storms, 
and  air  will  not  thus  resist  air.  Confessedly,  such  re- 
sistance is  necessary.  Let  any  one  watch  his  cigar 
smoke,  and  see  how  readily  it  moves  on,  with  little 
momentum.  Let  any  one  try  the  experiment  of 
creating  a  whirl  in  the  open  az'r,  or  in  a  room,  or  box 
of  paper,  or  other  material,  which  can  be  suddenly 
removed,  with  air  colored  by  smoke.  I  am  exceed- 
ingly mistaken  if  he  does  not  find  the  presence  of  a 
"  cylindrical  vessel,"  absolutely  essential  to  prevent 
the  instantaneous  tangential  escape  of  the  air. 

2d.  Turn  back  to  page  3  and  look  at  the  fall  of  the 
barometer  in  the  polar  regions  (recorded  in  the  ex- 


276  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

tract  from  Dr.  Kane),  with  scarcely  any  wind,  and  as 
little  variation  ia  its  direction,  and  see  how  utterly  Mr. 
IlodGeld's  theory  fails  to  account  for  the  phenomena. 
3d.  If  I  understand  Mr.  Kedfield  correctly,  he  has 
abandoned  the  claim  as  originally  made,  that  the 
wind  moves  in  circles,  expanding,  and  spreading  out 
by  a  "  lateral  movement"  and  now  asserts  that  it 
blows  spirally  inward,  and  elevates  the  air  in  the 
center.  I  quote : 

"  YORTICAL  INCLINATION  OP  THE  STORM  "WIND. — By  this  is  meant 
some  degree  of  involution  from  a  true  circular  course.  In  the  New 
England  storm  above  referred  to,  this  convergence  of  the  surface- 
winds  appeared  equal  to  an  average  of  about  6°  from  a  circle.  In 
the  present  case,  such  indication  seems  more  or  less  apparent  in  the 
arrows  on  the  storm  figures  of  the  several  charts,  where  the  concen- 
trical  circle  afford  us  means  for  a  just  comparison  of  the  general 
course  of  wind  which  is  approximately  shown  by  the  several  observa- 
tions. 

"  Perhaps  we  may  estimate  the  average  of  the  vorticose  converg- 
ence, as  observed  in  the  entire  storm  for  three  successive  days,  at 
from  5°  to  10° — out  of  the  90°  which  would  be  requisite  for  a  con- 
geries of  centripetal  or  center-blowing  winds.  This  rough  estimate 
of  the  degree  of  involution  is  founded  only  on  a  bird's-eye  view  of 
the  plotted  observations.  But,  however  estimated,  this  involution 
seems  to  afford  a  measure  of  the  air  and  vapor  which  finds  its  way  to 
a  higher  elevation  by  means  of  the  vortical  movement  in  the  body  of 
tlic  storm." 

If  the  elevation  of  the  air  at  the  borders  of  the 
storm,  and  depression  in  the  middle,  resulted  from 
the  outward  tendency  and  "  lateral  movement"  of 
the  revolving  air,  and  from  the  centrifugal  force,  as  in 
the  experiment  with  the  water  in  a  cylindrical  vessel, 
as  stated  in  the  first  paragraph  quoted,  an  involution 
of  from  5°  to  10°  from  the  action  of  a  centripetal  force, 
must  carry  the  air  inward,  and  the  "barometer  should 


THE    WEATHER.  277 

stand  highest  in  the  middle,  of  the  storm.  The  change  ia 
fatal  to  his  theory.  The  two  aro  diametrically  op- 
posite in  character  and  effect.  In  one,  the  superior 
strata  would  be  brought  down  in  the  center  by  the 
lateral  pressure  outward;  in  the  other,  they  would  bo 
elevated  by  the  involution,  which  "  affords  a  measure 
of  the  air  and  vapor  which  finds  its  way  to  a  higher 
elevation,"  etc.  It  is  perfectly  obvious  Mr.  Redfield 
has  refuted  his  own  hypothesis. 

In  doing  this,  he  is  met  by  the  other  difficulty 
alluded  to,  which  he  does  not  attempt  to  explain. 
This  gathering  of  the  air  inward,  spirally,  by  a  centri- 
petal force,  if  it  took  place,  not  only  would  not  de- 
press, but  must  elevate  the  barometer  in  the  center,  above 
that  of  the  adjoining  atmosphere. 

When  he  first  attributed  the  depression  of  the 
barometer  to  a  lateral  movement  and  centrifugal 
force,  he  supposed  the  superior  strata  descended  into 
the  depression,  and  their  frigidity  occasioned  the  con- 
densation, and  cloud,  and  rain.  How  he  now  pro- 
poses to  account  for  the  formation  of  cloud  and  rain 
during  storms,  while  the  warm  air  of  the  inferior 
stratum  finds  its  way  to  a  higher  elevation  in  the 
center  of  the  storm,  he  does  not  inform  us,  and  wo 
must  wait  his  time. 

"  I  have,"  he  says,  "  long  held  the  proper  inquiry  to  b?,  what  are 
storms?  and  not,  how  are  storms  produced?  as  has  been  well  express- 
ed by  another.  It  is  only  when  the  former  of  these  inquiries  has 
been  solved  that  we  can  enter  advantageously  upon  the  latter." 

The  former  does  not  seem  to  be  vet  solved,  or  the 

* 

solution  of  the  latter  commenced.     Mr.  Redfield  tells 


278  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

us  (page  259,  and  onward),  that  there  is  an  extended 
stratum  of  stratus-cloud,  which  overlies  the  storm, 
and  that  it  does  not  differ  greatly  from  one  mile  in 
height.  We  are  not  told  how  the  air,  which  finds  its 
way  to  a  higher  elevation  during  several  days  con- 
tinuance of  such  a  storm,  gets  through  the  stratum. 
If  he  is  right  it  must  do  so,  and  it  would  not  answer 
to  suppose  a  very  small  opening  or  gentle  current 
through  it,  to  carry  off  all  the  air  which  works  in- 
ward in  a  hurricane,  during  several  days  continu- 
ance. But  he  does  not  seem  to  recognize  either  the 
necessity  or  existence  of  any  vent  at  all ;  nor  is  there 
any ;  and  this  fact  is  open  to  the  observation  of  every 
school-boy  in  the  country ;  and  it  is  equally  open 
to  his  observation  that  when  and  where  the  barom- 
eter is  most  depressed,  the  stratus  storm-cloud  is  nearest 
the  earth.  Colonel  Reid  has  much  to  say  about  the 
"storrds  eye"  or  "treacherous  center"  of  a  storm.  A 
careful  analysis  of  the  instances  where  the  "storm's 
eye"  is  noticed  will  show  that  the  term  is  applied,  in 
the  northern  hemisphere,  to  that  lighting  up  in  the 
W.  or  N.  W.,  which  is  the  commencement  of  the 
clearing-off  process,  and  attended  with  a  shift  of 
wind  to  the  fair- weather  quarter :  i.  e.,  to  "W.  or  K.  "W. 
Just  such  an  "  eye"  as  is  seen  when  the  last  of  the 
storm  cloud  has  passed  so  far  to  the  east  as  to  admit 
the  rays  of  the  sun  under  the  western  or  north-west- 
ern edge  of  it.  The  same  kind  of  "  storm's  eye"  is  de- 
scribed in  the  southern  hemisphere,  except  that  the 
wind  shifts  to  S.  W.  instead  of  N.  W.,  that  being  the 
clearing-off  wind  there.  No  instance  of  a  "storm's 


THE    WEATHER.  279 

«ye"  in  the  center  of  the  extended  stratum  of  stratus- 
cloud,  which  overlies  the  storm,  can  be  found  record- 
ed, to  my  knowledge  ;  and  it  is  obvious  that 
Colonel  Keid  adopts  the  view  of  Mr.  Kedfield,  that 
the  westerly  and  N.  "W.  fair  weather  winds  are  a 
part  of  the  storm.  So  long  as  these  gentlemen  hold 
to  that  opinion  they  will  never  solve  the  question, 
11  what  are  storms?"  or  reach  the  other,  "how  are 
storms  produced  ?" 

Notwithstanding,  Mr.  Kedfield  asserts,  or  adopts 
the  assertion,  that  the  inquiry  should  be,  "  What  are 
storms  ?"  not  "  How  are  storms  produced  ?"  that  in- 
quiry should  be  a  rational  one,  and  should  not  violate 
all  analogy,  or  call  for  an  explanation  which  science 
can  not  rationally  furnish.  Mr.  Kedfield  does  not 
seem  to  have  formed  any  just  conception  of  the  im- 
measurable power  of  a  hurricane,  five  hundred  miles  in 
diameter •  or  of  the  nature  of  that  rod  which  the 
Almighty  must  insert  in  it}  to  whirl  it  with  such  violent 
and  long -continued  force ;  nor  any  just  conception  of 
the  tendency  of  the  whirling  mass,  in  the  absence  of 
his  "  cylindrical  vessel,"  to  fly  off,  tangentially,  into 
the  surrounding  air ;  or  of  the  nature  or  power  of 
the  centripetal  force  necessary  to  hold  the  gyratory 
mass  in  its  current,  and  gather  it  in  involute  spirals 
toward  a  center.  Nor  has  any  other  man  who  has 
witnessed,  or  read  of  mountain-tossed  waves;  of  the 
largest  ships  blown  down  and  engulfed ;  of  towns 
submerged,  and  vessels  carried  far  inland,  and  left  in 
cultivated  fields,  by  the  subsidence  of  the  sea ;  of 
sturdy  forests  and  strongly-built  edifices  prostrated ; 


280  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

or  listened  to  the  howling  of  the  tempest,  and  felt 
his  own  house  rock  beneath  him,  been  able  to  con- 
ceive of  any  known  form  of  calorific  or  mechan- 
ical, or  other  power,  acting  from  a  comparatively 
small  center,  which  could  hold  such  an  immense  ir- 
resistable  mass  of  whirling  air  in  a  circle,  and  gather 
it  in  toward  the  center  in  gradually  contracting 
spirals.  I  confess  that,  to  my  mind,  it  seems  little 
less  than  a  mockery  of  our  intelligence  for  Mr.  Eed- 
field,  or  Professor  Dove,  or  any  other  man,  hoAV  distin- 
guished soever  he  may  be,  to  tell  us  that  all  this  is 
the  result  of  a  "  tendency  to  left-wise  rotation"  of 
ordinary  winds,  "  coming  into  each  other,"  or  "  over- 
sliding,"  or  "  meeting,"  or  "  encountering,"  on  this 
"  front,"  or  that,  down  in  Central  America,  or  in 
the  "West  Indies,  or  the  monsoon  region  ;  or  to  talk 
of  "  lateral  overflows"  from  mere  gravity ;  of  the 
ascent  of  warm  air,  or  the  descent  of  cold  strata ;  of 
the  resistance  of  adjacent  passive  air,  or  other  mere  at- 
mospheric resistances  in  connection  with  such  awful 
manifestations  of  power.  Their  explanations  of  these 
phenomena  are  not  rational,  nor  can  they  be  believed 
by  any  rational  man,  who  will  bestow  upon  them 
half  an  hour  of  comprehensive,  unbiased  reflection. 

Waiving  many  minor  points  of  great  force,  for  this 
notice  of  Mr.  Redfield's  theory  is  already  too  much 
extended  for  my  limits,  I  am  constrained  to  take  issue 
with  him  on  the  fact,  and  to  assert,  unhesitatingly, 
that  in  a  majority  of  instances  no  such  barometric  curve 
exists. 

Doubtless  the   depression    beneath  the   storm  is 


THE    V7EATHER.  281 

found,  and  exterior  lateral  elevations  may  also  bo 
had  by  extending  the  line  into  the  usual  fair  weather 
elevation  on  each  side,  as  Mr.  Kedfield  is  obliged  to  do, 
to  get  his  supposed  circle  of  winds  at  all.  Doubtless, 
too,  the  seamen  sailing  out  of  a  storm,  on  either  side, 
and  approaching  fair  weather,  will  have  a  rising 
barometer.  But  from  front  to  rear>  on  the  line  of  pro- 
gression, in  tropical  storms,  the  curve  does  not  exist 
on  shore,  in  this  latitude,  oftener  than  in  4wo,  or 
possibly  three,  cases  in  ten ;  and  then  only  upon  a 
single  state  of  facts — that  is,  when  there  is  an  inter- 
position of  1ST.  TV.  wind ;  and  this,  at  some  seasons, 
rarely  occurs.  An  elevation  usually  occurs  before 
the  storm,  on  its  front,  if  it  present  an  extensive  east- 
erly front,  as  or.e  of  these  classes  does,  and  a  depres- 
sion is  left  after  it  has  passed  off,  unless  a  considerable 
body  of  1ST.  "W.  wind  interposes,  as  heretofore  stated. 
But  when  there  is  not  such  interposition  of  K.  TV. 
wind  (for  TV.,  TV.  K  TV.,  or  even  K  TV.  by  TV.  will 
not  suffice),  there  is  not  an  immediate  riss  of  the 
barometer  corresponding  in  rapidity  and  extent  with 
the  fall,  and  frequently  none  during  the  first  twenty- 
four  hours  of  bright,  fair  weather.  Let  the  reader, 
if  he  has  access  to  a  barometer,  note  this  fact,  for  it 
is  obvious  and  conclusive. 

Finally,  there  are  other  atmospheric  conditions  to 
which  the  barometric  changes  are  obviously  due : 

1st.  The  counter-trade  is  of  a  different  volume,  at 
different  times,  over  the  same  locality,  and  hence  a 
difference  in  the  normal  elevations  of  the  barometer. 

2d.  It  is  at  a  different  elevation,  at  different  times, 


282  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

over  the  same  locality.  It  was  so  found  by  the  in- 
vestigations of  the  Kew  Observatory  Committee  re- 
ferred to  ;  has  been  so  found  by  other  aeronauts,  and 
may  readily  be  seen  by  a  careful,  practiced  observer. 

It  is  highest,  with  a  high  barometer,  in  serene  weath- 
er, when  a  storm  is  not  at  hand ;  and  can  sometimes 
be  plainly  seen  to  ascend  when  a  considerable  volume 
of  N.  "W.  wind  is  blowing  in  beneath,  and  elevating, 
simultaneously,  the  trade  and  the  barometer. 

Opportunities  occur  every  year,  when  the  northern 
edge  of  the  dissolving  stratus- cloud  is  attenuated,  and 
the  storm  is  clearing  off  in  the  N.  W.,  with  wind 
from  that  quarter,  and  a  rising  barometer,  when  its 
gradual  elevation  may  be  observed  to  correspond 
with  the  volume  of  that  wind. 

3d.  During  storms,  with  a  low  barometer,  the  trade 
and  the  clouds  run  low.  This,  too,  is  clearly  observ- 
able, especially  when  the  stratus-cloud  passes  off 
abruptly,  very  soon  after  the  rain  ceases.  In  such 
cases  the  barometer  will  remain  depressed  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  unless  another  storm  supervenes 
speedily,  or  the  wind  sets  in  from  the  N.  W. 

4th.  The  trade,  in  a  stormy  state,  moves  faster  than 
when  in  a  normal  condition.  This  is  observable  dur- 
ing the  partial  breaks  which  "frequently  occur  in 
storms,  and  at  other  times.  It  is  also  inferable  from 
the  more  rapid  progress  of  the  more  intense  center, 
and  other  intense  portions  of  storms,  and  the  conse- 
quent greater  depression  of  the  barometer,  under  such 
centers  or  intense  portions.  (See  the  storm  of  Pro- 
fessor Loomis.)  It  is  obvious,  also,  from  the  greater 


THE    WEATHEB.  283 

rapidity  of  progress  attending  the  more  intense  and 
violent  storms  which  all  investigations  discloses. 

These  simple  facts  explain  all  the  phenomena : 

1st.  The  trade  stratum  is  a  continuous  unbroken 
sheet,  and  its  descent  must  displace  a  portion  of  the 
surface  atmosphere.  A  portion  of  it  is  impelled  for- 
ward, aiding  in  the  precedent  elevation  of  the  barom- 
eter, and  a  portion  is  attracted  backward,  into  the 
space  from  which  a  like  portion  had  been  previously 
attracted  by  the  passing  storm  cloud,  forming  the 
easterly  wind. 

2d.  The  increased  progress  of  the  stormy  portion 
of  the  counter-trade  occasions  an  accumulation  in 
front  of  the  storm,  and  an  elevation  of  the  barom- 
eter, and  tends  also  to  increase  the  depression  under 
the  spot  from  which  it  moves.  The  latter  is,  to  some 
extent,  counteracted  by  the  thin  sheets  of  surface 
wind  which  are  drawn  in  under  the  stratus  from  the 
sides.  That  which  is  drawn  from  the  front  in  suc- 
cessive portions,  fills  the  space  from  which  like  por- 
tions had  been  drawn  to  the  westward,  and  left  be- 
hind in  a  passive  state  by  the  passing  storm.  Thus, 
the  surface  atmosphere  of  New  England  may  pass 
under  the  entire  width  of  a  storm,  as  a  gale;  moving 
now  in  pufis  with  great  violence,  as  it  passes  beneath 
irregular  and  intense  portions  of  the  cloud,  and  now 
moderately ;  and  be  left,  in  a  passive  state,  in  Ken- 
tucky, occupying  the  space  from  which  the  atmos- 
phere had  been  previously  drawn  by  the  same  storm, 
in  like  manner,  on  to  northern  Texas. 

3d.  The  nearer  the  stratus-cloud  to  the  earth,  the 


284      PHILOSOPHY    OF    THE    WEATHER. 

greater  the  displacement  of  surface  atmosphere,  the 
lower  the  barometer,  and,  ordinarily,  the  more  vio- 
lent the  wind.  First,  because  the  same  intensity, 
which,  by  attraction,  brings  the  trade  near  the  earth, 
acts  with  greater  force  upon  the  surface  atmosphere  ; 
and,  secondly,  the  storm  winds,  which  are  often  most 
rapid  beneath  the  clouds  and  above  tlje  earth,  ate 
likely  to  be  felt  with  more  violence  at  its  surface, 
where  the  stratus  cloud  runs  low,  especially  at  sea. 

I  desire  to  commend  all  these  facts,  in  relation  to 
the  theory  of  Mr.  Kedfield,  to  the  careful  attention 
and  observation  of  those  who,  although  believers  in 
the  theory,  are  not  wedded  to  it ;  and  who  have  a 
sincere  desire  to  understand  the  phenomena  which 
are  continually,  and  thus  far,  mysteriously,  occurring 
within  two  or  three  miles  of  us,  while  our  knowledge 
of  the  distant  worlds  around  us — the  science  of  as- 
tronomy— seems  almost  perfect. 

I  will  return  to  a  further  and  a  careful  considera- 
tion of  the  nature  of  the  reciprocal  action  between 
the  earth  and  the  counter- trade,  and  the  facts  bearing 
upon  the  question,  in  another  chapter.  It  is  obvious 
that  received  theories  can  not  aid  us  materially  ia 
the  inquiry. 


CHAPTER    X. 

are  yet  ignorant  of  the  true  nature  of  magnet- 
ism. "We  trace  its  lines,  as  in  the  diagrams,  upon 
and  around  the  magnet ;  but  we  can  only  do  this 
•with  soft  iron,  or  other  substance,  in  which  magnetic 
action  may  be  induced.  We  know  that  these  lines 
are  currents,  or  lines  of  force,  for  that  force  produces 
sensible  effects,  and  we  measure  it  by  the  movements 
of  the  needle.  We  know  that  these  lines  may  be 
deflected  by  other  magnetic  bodies,  and  concentrated 
upon  them.  We  know  that  the  earth,  and  the  small- 
est magnets,  exhibit  properties  in  common.  The 
poles  of  the  magnet  are  some  distance  from  its  ex- 
treme ends — so  arc  those  of  the  earth.  The  intensity 
increases,  from  the  center,  or  near  it,  to  the  poles  of 
the  magnet,  as  shown  by  its  attraction ;  and  tho 
same  increase  of  magnetic  intensity,  from  the  mag- 
netic equator  to  the  magnetic  poles,  or  near  them,  13 
traced  upon  the  earth. 

We  know  that  there  are  two  lines,  or  rather  areas, 
of  greater  intensity  upon  the  globe.  One  extending 
from  the  American  magnetic  pole,  south- east wardly, 
to  a  corresponding  pole  in  the  southern  hemisphere ; 
and  another,  the  Asiatic,  extending  from  the  Siberian 
pole  to  a  corresponding  southern  one,  in  like  manner. 


286  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

We  know  that,  from  those  lines  or  areas,  the  intens- 
ity, east  and  west,  on  the  same  parallel  of  latitude, 
decreases  each  way,  to  about  midway  between  them. 
Thus,  calling  the  intensity  where  Humboldt  found 
the  magnetic  equator  over  South  America,  in  7°  1' 
south  latitude,  1,  or  unity — the  least  intensity  known 
is,  .706,  found  at  the  magnetic  equator,  over  the 
South  Atlantic,  and  at  its  most  southern  depression ; 
and  it  increases  to  1.4  in  the  West  Indies,  and  to 
2.0099  upon  one  or  more  points  of  the  North 
American  continent,  south  of  the  magnetic  pole,  and 
about  the  meridian  of  92°.  That  it  is  1.805,  at 
Warren,  Ohio,  in  latitude  41°  16',  and  longitude 
72°  57',  and  decreases  to  1.774  at  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  in  latitude  41°  18'  That  it  is  but  1.348 
at  Paris,  nearly  one  third  less  than  on  the  same 
latitude  in  some  portions  of  this  continent.  That 
the  line  of  equal  intensity,  or  "  iso-dynamic"  line, 
of  Iy8o,  is  a  closed  curve  of  an  oval  shape,  extend- 
ing somewhat  below  40°,  in  the  longitude  of  Cincin- 
nati, and  reaches  off  nearly  to  Bhering's  Straits,  on 
the  west ;  rising  in  a  similar  manner,  though  not  so 
abruptly,  on  the  east;  including  the  great  northern 
lakes  and  a  considerable  part  of  Hudson's  Bay. 
While  the  iso-dynamic  lines  of  lTVoj  an(^  li8oVo>  are 
smaller  ovals,  included  within  the  former.  Such,  at 
least,  is  the  present  belief  from  such  investigations 
as  have  been  made.  (See  an  article  by  Professor 
Loomis,  American  Journal  of  Science,  new  series, 
vol.  iv.  p.  192.) 

Our  subject  demands  a  still  closer  examination  of 


THE    WEATHER.  287 

the  elements  of  magnetism  and  its  associated  electrici- 
ties, and  their  influence  upon  climate  and  the  atmos- 
phere with  a  view  to  the  solution  of  the  questions  in 
hand,  and  we  will  pursue  the  inquiry  in  the  present 
chapter. 

Waiving,  for  the  present,  any  further  notice  of  the 
fact  that  the  counter-trades  are  concentrated  over, 
and  contiguous  to,  this  area  of  intensity,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  examining  the  magnetic  phenomena  inde- 
pendently, and  intending  to  return  to  a  consideration 
of  their  connection  with  it,  we  observe  : — That  it  is 
now  well  settled  that  the  iso-geothermal  lines,  or  lines 
of  equal  terrestrial  heat,  are  coincident,  or  nearly  so, 
with  the  lines  of  equal  magnetic  intensity.  The 
points  where  the  magnetic  intensity  is  at  a  minimum, 
on  the  magnetic  meridian,  are  the  warmest  points  of 
that  meridian,  and  those  where  it  is  most  intense,  the 
coldest. 

The  magnetic  elements  of  a  place  may  be  comput- 
ed from  its  thermal  ones.  The  laws  producing  or 
governing  the  distribution  of  one,  have  an  intimate 
physical  relation  with  those  producing  or  governing 
the  other.  Professor  Norton  ably  sums  up  a  discus- 
sion of  the  subject  (in  the  American  Journal  of  Sci- 
ence for  September,  1847),  omitting  the  theoretic  pro- 
positions, as  follows : 

11 1.  All  the  magnetic  elements  of  any  place  on  the  earth  may  be  de- 
duced from  the  thermal  elements  of  the  same ;  and  all  the  great  fea- 
tures of  the  distribution  of  the  earth's  magnetism  may  be  theoretic- 
ally derived  from  certain  prominent  features  in  the  distribution  of  its 
heat. 

"  2.  Of  the  magnetic  elements,  the  horizontal  intensity  is  nearly 


288  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OP 

proportional  to  the  mean  temperature,  ns  measured  by  Fahrenheit's 
thermometer ;  the  vertical  intensity  is  nearly  proportional  to  the  dif- 
ference between  the  mean  temperatures,  at  two  points  situated  at 
equal  distances  north  and  south  of  the  place,  in  a  direction  perpen- 
dicular to  the  iso-geothermal  line ;  and,  in  general,  the  direction  of 
the  needle  is  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  iso-geothermal  line,  wliilo 
the  precise  course  of  the  inflected  line  to  which  it  is  perpendicular 
may  bo  deduced  from  Brewster's  formula  for  the  temperature,  by  dif- 
ferentiating and  putting  the  differential  equal  to  zero. 

"  3.  As  a  consequence,  the  laws  of  the  terrestrial  distribution  of 
the  physical  principles  of  magnetism  and  heat  must  be  the  same,  or 
nearly  the  same ;  and  these  principles  themselves  must  have,  toward 
one  another,  the  most  intimate  physical  relations." 

The  magnetic  elements,  of  which.  Professor  Horton 
speaks,  are  the  declination,  dip,  and  horizontal  and 
vertical  forces  or  intensities. 

I  have  said,  that  toward  the  areas  of  greatest 
magnetic  intensity,  the  needle  every  where  declines. 
So  as  intensity  increases,  from  the  magnetic  equator 
toward  the  poles,  the  needle,  when  so  suspended  as 
to  permit  of  the  rnotio-n,  dips,  inclines  downward, 
and  the  dip  is  greatest,  on  the  same  parallel,  whero 
intensity  is  greatest.  To  my  mind,  the  magnetic 
elements  are  very  intelligible.  They  are  are  all  at- 
tributable to  attraction,  and  attraction  is  greatest 
where  intensity  is  greatest.  There  is  nothing  in  tho 
earth  or  atmosphere  to  make  the  needle  point  north- 
erly rather  than  in  any  other  direction,  except  mag- 
netic intensity.  Thus,  the  greater  intensity  of  mag- 
netism near  the  northern  and  southern  points  of  the 
globe,  attracts  the  corresponding  ends  of  the  needle 
in  those  directions.  And,  as  magnetism  increases  in 
quantity  or  intensity,  and  the  poles  are  approached, 
the  attraction,  increases,  and  the  needle  dips  moro 


THE    WEATHER.  289 

and  more,  till  the  focus  of  intensity  and  attraction 
is  reached,  and  then  it  becomes  perpendicular.  So 
magnetism  is  unequally  diffused,  meridionally,  in  or 
over  the  earth,  and  there  are  two  equidistant  areas 
where  its  quantity  or  intensity  is  greatest.  These 
exert  a  lateral  attraction  upon  the  needle ;  it  yields 
to  this  attraction,  and  hence  its  declination.  If  it  is 
carried  on  to  one  area  of  intensity,  and  to  the  center 
of  it,  it  will  point  to  the  northern  focus  of  intensity 
or  magnetic  pole ;  and,  if  carried  a  trifle  further  west, 
it  will  yield  to  an  eastern  attraction,  and  point  direct- 
ly north.  If  carried  still  further  west,  its  declination 
east  will  increase.  Thus  its  normal  direction  is  to 
the  pole,  on  the  central  focus  of  intensity,  and 
when  it  points  directly  north  it  is  west  of  the  central 
line  of  intensity.  And  thus,  it  seems  to  me,  all  the 
magnetic  elements  may  be  resolved  into  the  one  ele- 
ment of  attraction  by  excess  of  intensity  or  activity. 

This  impression  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that 
the  needle  moves  to  the  east  in  the  morning,  when 
the  solar  rays  increase  magnetic  activity  in  that  direc- 
tion, and  west  again,  as  their  influence  increases  there. 

Now,  these  elements — the  declination  and  horizont- 
al and  vertical  forces — all  these  periodical,  regular, 
and  irregular  variations  of  magnetic  activity,  are 
intimately  connected  with  the  variations  of  atmos- 
pheric condition : 

First,  They  show  an  increase  of  activity  during 
certain  hours  of  the  day,  corresponding  to,  and 
obviously  connected  with,  the  diurnal  atmospheric 
changes. 

19 


290  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

Second,  They  show  an  increase  of  activity  during 
the  northern  transit  of  the  atmospheric  machinery — • 
an  annual  variation. 

Third,  They  show  an  increase  in  that  activity 
during  the  latter  portion  of  each  decennial  period, 
conforming  to  the  occurrence  of  solar  spots. 

And,  fourth,  Irregular  variations  of  activity,  cor- 
responding with  the  irregular  changes  of  atmospheric 
condition. 

"We  will  examine  these  results,  and  in  doing  so, 
take  those  of  the  element  of  declination — one 
answering  for  all. 

The  magnetic  needle  moves  to  the  west  in  summer, 
from  about  8  A.M.  till  about  2  P.M.,  and  the  extent  of 
its  progress,  during  that  period,  constitutes  the  mag- 
nitude of  its  daily  variation.  It  is  found  that  this 
variation  differs  in  different  months,  and  that  it  is 
normally  greatest  in  the  summer  months,  and  least 
in  the  winter,  in  the  ratio  of  about  two  to  one.  It  is 
further  found,  that  in  different  years  the  maximum 
activity  occurs  in  different  months,  and  that  the 
years  differ  also,  and  there  is  a  distinctly  marked 
decennial  period,  corresponding  most  remarkably  with, 
the  decennial  maxima  of  recurring  solar  spots,  as  ob- 
served by  Schwabe.  Dr.  Lament,  of  Munich,  gives 
us  the  following  table  of  magnitude  of  declination 
there,  for  the  ten  years  preceding  1851,  which  clearly 
exhibits  this  fact,  and  also  the  greater  intensity  dur- 
ing the  northern,  transit  of  the  atmospheric  machinery. 
He  says : 


THE    WEATHER. 


291 


"  The  magnitude  of  the  variations  of  declination  have  a  period  of 
ten  years.  For  five  years  there  is  a  uniform  increase,  and  during  the 
following  five  years  a  uniform  decrease  in  the  variations.  With  us 
the  magnetic  declination  is  a  minimum  at  about  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  is  greatest  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Subtract- 
ing the  declination  at  eight  o'clock  from  that  at  two  o'clock,  we  ob- 
tain the  magnitude  of  the  diurnal  motion.  From  the  hourly  observa- 
tions, conducted  in  this  observatory  since  the  month  of  August, 
1840,  we  ascertain  the  following  to  be  the  magnitude  of  the  diurnal 
motion  for  each  month  separately." 


1841 

1842 
1S4-3 
1844 
1845 
1346 
1847 
1843 
1849 
1850 
1 

| 

1 

1 

t 
•< 

ill 

£ 

"3 

"3 

to 

•3 

i 

1 

1 

1 

go"'   c9 

sj£  s.5 

««S.  «.«J 

i 

3.7-2 
3.65 
iJ.xJ 
2.S1 
2.2'' 
3.o  j 
8.80 
162 
7.27 
5.95 

5.13 
4.74 
108 
143 

4.69 
6.94 

<;.-y> 

9.D1 
S.42 
>.Si 

8.43 
8.34 
6.87 
6.95 
8.26 
9.58 
9.85 
11.96 
1408 
12.15 

11.49 

10.33 
9.71 
9.53 
11.93 
12.27 
12.43 
1456 
16.86: 
1432, 

11.4711.49 
9.31  y.78 
9.2410.14 
8.42  8.83 
10.SS10.73 
12.5S  11.21 
11.8111.76 
1422  13.80 
13.67  13.86 
140513.39 

10.07 

8.3S 

9.57 

8.38 
9.44 
11.37 
10.94 
1467 
12.57 
12.53 

9.86 
9.03 
10.08 
9.28 
10.42 
11.49 
12.87 
15.40 
11.54 
12.63 

8.  78 
T.72 
8.81 
8.23 
8.82 
10.39 
12.06 
1400 
10.79 
12.64 

6.823.71 
7.053.86 
6.82  8.82 
6.543.94 
7.34  4.49 
7.82  5.66 
11.537.06 
10.30,5.78 
9.12  5.41 
9.046.2. 

2.895.1210.53  7.82 
2.815.07   9.09;  7.03 
2.79470   9.59J  7.15 
2.98  444i  8.79   6.61 
3.345.8910.37  8.18 
3.226.0811.25  8.81 
4.707.6311.93  9.55 
3.537.85144411.05 
4098.0613.2110.64 
3.457.61  13.2710.44 

The  Philadelphia  and  Toronto  observations  dis- 
close the  same  state  of  facts. 

Dr.  Lament,  also,  in  his  article,  gives  us  the  follow- 
ing table  of  the  magnitude  of  the  variations  derived 
from  observations  at  Gottingen : 


Tear. 

Mean  of  Year. 

1835 

9.57 

1836 

12.84 

1837 

12.27 

1833 

12.79 

1839 

11.08 

1840 

9.91 

1841 

8.70 

A  comparison  of  these  tables,  and  particularly  the 
latter,  with  Sehwabe's  table  of  spots,  is  interesting. 


292  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

There  is  obviously  a  greater  mean  variation  when 
the  spots  are  most  numerous.  Comparing  the  two 
with  the  tables  of  Hildreth,  in  relation  to  the  tem- 
perature, from  1830  to  1840,  there  is,  to  say  the  least, 
a  most  remarkable  coincidence.  And  there  are 
others  equally  remarkable. 

There  are  also  irregularities  of  action  disclosed  by 
all,  in  different  months  of  the  different  years,  and  of 
the  same  year,  which  are  obviously  connected  with 
the  difference  of  the  seasons;  and  there  are  con* 
stantly  occurring  irregularities  and  disturbances 
which  correspond  with  the,  as  constantly  occurring, 
irregular  atmospheric  phenomena.  A  wide  field  is 
here  opened  for  investigation  and  research.  I  have 
not  time  or  opportunity  to  pursue  it.  Enough  ap- 
pears, so  far  as  I  have  examined,  to  confirm  the  be- 
lief that  magnetism  is  actively  concerned  in  the  pro- 
duction of  the  varied  changes,  as  well  as  the  normal 
conditions  of  the  weather. 

In  what  manner  does  it  act  ?  An  answer  to  this 
requires  an  extension  of  the  inquiry.  The  lines  of 
magnetic  force  are  every  instant  passing  upward 
from  the  earth,  around  and  through  us.  Their  con- 
nection with  heat  is  unquestionable.  They  are  inti- 
mately associated,  also,  with  another  equally  obvious 
and  intensely  active  agent — electricity.  "We  speak 
of  this  as  an  independent,  imponderable,  elementary 
body,  but  how  little  we  yet  know  of  it.  It  is  every 
where,  in  every  thing,  easily  excited  into  action,  and 
then  traceable  to  a  certain,  but  limited  extent.  It  is 
set  in  motion,  and  becomes  obvious  to  us,  by  the 


THE    WEATHER.  293 

chemical  action  of  the  acids  and  metals  of  a  galvanic 
apparatus.  "We  separate  it  from  the  atmosphere  bj 
friction  and  excitation,  upon  non-conductors,  as  in 
the  electric  machine ;  by  the  cleavage  of  crystals  and 
other  exciting  operations.  We  obtain  it  from  magnets, 
by  the  magneto-electric  machine,  and  from  the  lines 
of  magnetic  force  which  are  ever  passing  into  the 
atmosphere  from  the  earth,  by  intersecting  them  with 
a  movable  iron  wire,  properly  insulated.  From  the 
current  of  magnetism  which  has  passed  through  us  from 
the  earth,  electricity  may  thus  be  separated  and  collected 
over  our  heads.  We  set  it  in  motion,  and  obtain  it 
by  heating  different  metals  in  connection,  or  the  same 
metal  unequally  ;  and  from  certain  animals — like  the 
torpedo  and  the  gymnotus — whose  organization  is 
such  as  to  enable  them  to  evolve  it.  In  all  these 
cases,  and  they  constitute  an  epitome  of  the  principal 
methods  by  which  we  obtain  it  in  a  distinct  form,  it 
is  made  to  flow  in  currents.  When  thus  obtained, 
and  imprisoned  in  non-conductors,  it  may  be  dis- 
charged, and  with  somewhat  different  effect,  as  it  is 
discharged  in  a  mass,  disruptively,  as  it  is  called,  as 
from  the  clouds  in  lightning,  or  permitted  to  flow 
convectively,  in  currents,  along  the  wires  of  a  gal- 
vanic apparatus,  or  in  heated  air,  as  from  the  earth 
to  a  cloud  in  the  tornado. 

It  is,  moreover,  capable  of  division  into  positive 
and  negative,  and  when  concentrated  or  disturbed  in 
one  body,  it  tends  to  create  a  similar  disturbance  or 
division  in  a  contiguous  mass.  To  this  action  of 
electricity,  the  term  static  induction  is  applied.  Thus, 


294  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

a  positively  electrified  body  induces  a  division  of  the 
electricity  in  a  contiguous  body,  if  both  axe  insulated 
or  surrounded  by  a  non-conducting  medium ;  the  neg- 
ative electricity  of  the  contiguous  body  being  attract- 
ed by,  and  tending  to  pass  to,  the  positive  of  the 
adjoining  body,  and  the  positive  being  repelled  to 
the  opposite  side.  That,  in  its  turn,  if  sufficiently 
powerful,  tends  to  disturb  the  electricity  of  its  neigh- 
bor, and  attract  away  its  negative  electricity ;  or,  if 
the  body  which  contains  it  is  free  to  move,  to  attract 
that.  Thus,  by  the  conflicting  action  of  a  positive 
atmosphere,  and  a  negative  earth,  and  perhaps  count- 
er-trade, influenced  by  magnetism  and  the  solar  rays, 
the  currents  and  winds  of  the  atmosphere  are  pro- 
duced, the  atmosphere  moving  with  exceeding  ease 
and  rapidity.  Electricity,  excited  into  currents,  or  ob- 
tained and  discharged  in  either  of  the  methods  enum- 
erated, is  identical  in  character,  and  produces  certain 
well-known  effects : 

1st.  Physiological. — Shocking  and  convulsing  the 
animal  system ;  producing  a  peculiar  sensation  on 
the  tongue,  and  a  flash  before  the  eyes,  and  in  suifi- 
cient  quantity  destroying  life. 

2d.  Magnetic. — Deflecting  the  needle,  and,  by  a  suit- 
able arrangement  of  wire  into  helices,  conferring  mag- 
netic power,  or  constituting  magnets. 

3d.  Luminous. — Producing  light — by  a  spark,  as 
it  does  in  natural  phenomena — by  the  glow,  the 
brush  discharge,  the  ball  of  flame,  the  flash,  or  the 
chain  of  lightning,  and  probably  the  aurora. 

4th.  Evolving  heat. — Melting  metallic  substances 


THE    WEATHER.  295 

by  concentration,  with  a  great  intensity  of  heat — as 
the  wire  of  the  galvanic  apparatus,  and  as  is  some- 
times seen  in  the  effects  of  lightning  in  fusing  metals 
on  persons  stricken ;  and  setting  combustibles  on  fire. 

5th.  Attraction  and  repulsion. — Attraction,  when 
the  currents  flow  parallel  with  each  other,  or  are  of 
opposite  natures,  and  repelling  when  of  like  character. 

6th.  Induction. — Inducing  attendant  circular  or 
other  secondary  currents,  such  as  may  be  seen  in  the 
atmosphere  during  its  most  violent  displays  of  active 
energy. 

7th.  Capable  of  being  dissipated  by  heated  air,  or 
carried  off  by  moisture,  although  isolated  by  dry  air, 
of  ordinary  temperature,  which  is  a  bad  conductor. 

Now,  although  magnetism  can  not  be  collected, 
imprisoned,  or  discharged,  like  electricity,  or  collect- 
ed at  all,  but  by  its  adherence  to  some  substance 
capable  of  magnetization,  it  is  obvious  there  is  an 
intimate  association,  at  least,  between  it  and  electricity. 
They  are  never  found  alone.  All  electricity  will  magnetize. 
All  magnetism  will  evolve  electricity.  All  currents  of 
electricity  have  encircling  currents  of  magnetism,  and 
all  deflect  the  magnetic  needle.  All  magnetic  cur- 
rents give  out  to  intersecting  wires,  currents  of  electri- 
city, and  all  magnets  induce  them. 

Electricity,  therefore,  whether  identical  in  sub- 
stance with  magnetism,  but  differing  in  form,  or 
whether  merely  associated  with  it,  as  is  variously  be- 
lieved, should  be  present  with  magnetism  in  greater 
quantity  or  intensity  where  magnetism  is  most  in- 
tense, and  active,  and  whenever  present,  should  be 


296  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

active  and  influential.  And  so  we  find,  from  observ- 
ation, the  fact  to  be.  No  inconsiderable  effort  has 
been  made  by  the  advocates  of  the  caloric  and  me- 
chanical theories,  to  ignore  the  agency  of  electricity 
and  of  magnetism,  in  the  production  of  the  varied 
meteorological  phenomena.  But  it  will  not  do.  The 
phenomena,  grouped  and  analyzed,  disclose  a  po- 
tential-controlling, magneto-electric  agency,  and  me- 
teorology will  advance  rapidly  to  perfection,  as  a 
simple,  intelligible,  and  practical  science,  as  soon  as 
that  agency  is  admitted. 

Electricity  is  always  perceptibly  present  in  storms 
and  showers  within  the  tropics.  Most  of  the  rain, 
from  the  tropical  belt,  falls  from  "thunder  show- 
ers." So  hurricanes  and  typhoons,  and  all  tropi- 
cal storms,  are  confessedly,  and  in  proportion  to 
their  intensity,  "  highly  electric"  This  excess  of  quan- 
tity or  activity  of  electricity,  exists  in  connection 
with  the  movable  atmospheric  machinery.  "When 
it  moves  up  north  in  summer,  and  arrives  at  its 
highest  point  of  northern  transit,  storms  are  very 
uncommon,  and  the  tropical  forms  of  cloud  and 
showers,  with  thunder  and  lightning,  prevail.  This 
is  most  obvious,  if  not  most  influential,  where  the 
magnetic  intensity  is  greatest.  Violent  showers,  and 
gusts,  and  tornadoes,  are  more  frequent  in  this  coun- 
try than  in  Europe ;  and  over  the  area  of  greatest  in- 
tensity, as  in  Ohio,  than  at  a  distance  on  the  extreme 
eastern  or  western  coast.  And  the  same  is  true  over 
the  intense  magnetic  area  of  Asia. 

Electricity,  too,  like  magnetism,'  has  its  diurnal, 


THE    WEATHER.  297 

and  doubtless  its  annual  and  decennial  variations,  and 
also  its  irregular  ones,  and  they  are  most  obviously 
and  intimately  connected.  Magnetism  and  electricity 
together,  constitute  the  aurora.  Its  culmination  is  in 
the  magnetic  meridian — it  affects  the  telegraph  wires 
— is  connected  with  the  irregular  disturbances  which 
affect  the  magnetic  needle,  and  does  not  exist  in  the 
limits  of  the  trades,  although  occasionally  seen  from 
thence,  when  it  passes  south,  and  near  them. 

The  aurora  sometimes  extends  south  in  waves,  as 
do  the  magneto-electric,  atmospheric,  periodical 
changes  of  cold  and  heat,  and  storm,  and  sunshine. 
The  aurora  is  connected  with  the  formation  of  cloud,  and 
with  a  smoky  atmosphere,  similar  to  that  with  which 
we  are  familiar  in  summer  and  autumn.  Thus  Hum- 
boldt  (Cosmos,  vol.  i.  pp.  191, 192). 

"  This  connection  of  the  polar  light  with  the  most 
delicate  cirrus  clouds,  deserves  special  attention,  be- 
cause it  shows  that  the  electro-magnetic  evolution  of 
light  is  a  part  of  a  meteorological  process.  Ter- 
restrial magnetism  here  manifests  its  influence  on  the 
atmosphere,  and  on  the  condensation  of  aqueous 
vapor.  The  fleecy  clouds  seen  in  Iceland,  by  Thiene- 
mann,  and  which  he  considered  to  be  the  northern 
light,  have  been  seen  in  recent  times  by  Franklin  and 
Kichardson,  near  the  American  north  pole,  and  by 
Admiral  Wrangel  on  the  Siberian  coast  of  the  Polar 
Sea.  All  remarked  *  that  the  aurora  flashed  forth 
in  the  most  vivid  beams  when  masses  of  cirrus-strata 
were  hovering  in  the  upper  regions  of  the  air,  and 
when  these  were  so  thin  that  their  presence  could 


298  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OP 

only  be  recognized  by  the  formation  of  a  halo  round 
the  moon.'  These  clouds  sometimes  range  them- 
selves, even  by  day,  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  beams 
of  the  aurora,  and  then  disturb  the  course  of  the 
magnetic  needle  in  the  same  manner  as  the  latter. 
On  the  morning  after  every  distinct  nocturnal  aurora, 
the  same  superimposed  strata  of  clouds  have  still  been 
observed  that  had  previously  been  luminous.  The 
apparently  converging  polar  zones  (streaks  of  clouds 
in  the  direction  of  the  magnetic  meridian),  which  con- 
stantly occupied  my  attention  during  my  journeys  on 
the  elevated  plateaux  of  Mexico,  and  in  northern 
Asia,  belong,  probably,  to  the  same  group  of  diurnal 
phenomena." 

Mr.  William  Stevenson  gives  us  (in  the  London, 
Edinburgh,  and  Dublin  Philosophical  Magazine  for 
July,  1853)  an  interesting  article  on  the  connection 
between  aurora  and  clouds.  His  observations  on 
this  most  important  branch  of  the  subject  trace  a 
connection  between  the-  aurora  and  the  formation  of 
cloud,  and  open  up,  as  he  says,  "  a  most  interesting 
field  for  observation  which  promises  to  lead  to  very 
important  results."  Such  observations  point  with, 
great  significance,  to  the  primary  influence  of  the 
magneto-electricity  of  the  earth. 

To  the  difference  in  the  magnetic  intensity  of  the 
eastern  portion  of  this  continent,  compared  with 
Europe  and  our  western  coast,  very  much  of  the 
difference  of  climate,  so  far  as  temperature  is  involv- 
ed, may  be  attributed.  We  have  seen  in  what  manner 
the  iso-thermal  lines  surround  these  areas  of  intensity. 


THE    WEATHER.  299 

So  the  most  excessive  climate — that  is,  the  climate 
where  the  greatest  extremes  alternate,  other  things 
being  equal,  is  upon  or  near  the  line  or  area  of  great- 
est magnetic  intensity.  I  say  other  things  being 
equal,  because  large  bodies  of  water  modify  climates 
by  equalizing  the  seasons — making  the  summers 
cooler  and  the  winters  warmer  than  the  mean  of  the 
parallel. 

Thus,  our  great  interior  lakes  modify  the  climate  in 
relation  to  temperature  in  their  vicinity.  Their  sum- 
mers are  cooler  and  their  winters  warmer ;  but  west- 
ward of  them  the  same  line  of  equal  summer  tem- 
perature, or  iso-theral  line,  rises  with  considerable 
abruptness,  and  the  winter,  or  iso-cheimal  line  of 
equal  temperature,  falls  in  a  similar  manner.  Thus, 
the  range  of  the  thermometer,  from  the  highest  ele- 
vation to  the  lowest  depression,  for  the  year,  is  very 
great,  while  in  the  tropics  the  range  is  comparatively 
small.  From  observations  made  at  the  military 
posts  of  the  United  States,  Dr.  Forrey  deduced  sum- 
mer and  winter  lines  of  equal  temperature,  starting 
from  the  vicinity  of  Boston  and  running  west,  which 
showed  most  remarkably  the  rise  of  the  summer 
lines  as  intensity  increased,  and  the  fall  of  the  winter 
lines  in  like  manner. 

The  influence  of  the  lakes  was  also  most  obvious. 
The  elevation  of  the  earth  increases,  going  west, 
to  about  700  feet  at  the  surface  of  the  lakes, 
and  to  nearly  4,000  feet  at  the  eastern  base  of  the 
Kocky  Mountains;  and,  although  temperature  does 
not  decrease  to  as  great  a  degree  when  the  elevation 


800  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

above  the  level  of  the  sea  is  gradual,  yet  some  allow- 
ance should  doubtless  be  made  for  that  elevation  on 
this  line.  When  that  allowance  is  made,  the  ascent 
of  the  summer  line,  to  the  north,  over  the  area  of 
greatest  intensity,  is  strikingly  apparent. 

Dr.  Forrey  also  instituted  a  comparison  between 
Fort  Snelling,  where  the  climate  is  as  excessive,  and 
the  range  of  the  thermometer  as  great,  as  in  any  por- 
tion of  the  continent  in  the  same  latitude,  with  Key 
West,  and  I  copy  his  diagram.  It  is  very  instruct- 
ive, showing  the  gradual  mean  rise  of  the  tempera- 
ture, from  January  to  December,  inclusive,  while  the 
cross  lines  show  the  extremes  of  each  month. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  part  of  it,  is  the  illus- 
tration of  the  monthly  extremes,  and  the  contrast  be- 
tween them,  in  the  excessive  climate  of  Fort  Snelling, 
and  the  tropical  one  of  Key  West.  Each  is  a  type 
of  the  climate  in  which  it  is  situated.  The  annual 
range  and  monthly  extremes  are  small  in  tropical 
countries,  and  large  in  extra-tropical  ones.  The  ex- 
treme range,  or  greatest  elevation  of  heat,  contrary 
to  what  is  generally  supposed,  is  greater  at  Fort 
Snelling  than  at  Key  West.  But  the  climate  of  the 
latter  is  modified  by  the  adjoining  ocean. 

I  copy,  also,  a  table  (p.  304),  showing  the  range  of 
the  thermometer  for  the  year,  and  the  maxima  and 
minima,  during  each  month,  at  several  other  places  in 
this  country,  and  at  London  and  Rome,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  showing  the  extent  of  the  ranges  compared 
with  those  places;  and  also,  that  these  great  changes  in 
each  month  occur  very  uniformly  all  over  the  country, 


Fig.  18. 


THE    WEATHER.  303 

and  may  always  be  expected,  and  with  considerable 
regularity.  They  are  incident  to  our  climate.  I 
wish  I  could  engrave  the  foregoing  diagram,  and  the 
following  table,  upon  the  mind  of  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  in  the  country;  and  under  it,  in 
ever- visible  letters,  these  words  of  precaution:  COX- 
FORM  TO  THE  PECULIARITIES  OF  YOUR  CLIMATE,  AND 
CLOTHE  YOURSELVES,  AT  ALL  TIMES,  IN  ACCORDANCE 
WITH  THE  ALTERNATIONS  OF  THE  WEATHER.  If 

heeded,  they  would  save  thousands,  every  year,  from 
premature  death. 

The  effect  of  this  difference  of  magnetic  intensity 
upon  the  climate  of  Europe  is  marked.  There,  the 
excessive  summer  heat,  which  our  greater  magnetic 
intensity  and  larger  volume  of  counter  trade  give  us, 
is  unknown.  Hence,  while  we  can  grow  Indian  corn 
(which  requires  the  excessive  summer  heat)  over 
all  the  Eastern  States,  up  to  45°,  and  in  some  locali- 
ties east  of  the  lakes  to  47°  30',  and  to  50°  west  of 
them,  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  not- 
withstanding the  increase  of  elevation,  they  can  not 
grow  it  except  over  a  limited  area,  and  with  limited 
success.  Nor  can  they,  or  the  inhabitants  of  any 
other  country  except  China,  grow  profitably  the  kind 
of  cotton  which  is  so  successfully  grown  in  the 
Southern  States  of  the  Union.  NOT  can  China  do  so 
to  a  considerable  extent,  because  of  the  mountainous 
character  of  the  surface.  To  a  level  and  remarkably 
watered  country,  greater  magnetic  and  electric  intens- 
ity, and  a  greater  volume  of  counter-trade,  we  are,  and 
ever  shall  remain,  indebted,  for  an  almost  exclusive 


804 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


•*  10  0  t-  t  0  <±>  ^H 
ITHCJ^T—  ir-^CCO^OD 


Jj  I- 


: 

llff  I  ill 

$31-3  i  -l 

Kill  il* 


THE    WEATHER.  805 

monopoly  in  the  growth  of  two  of  the  most  important 
staple  productions  of  the  earth.  On  the  other  hand, 
although  the  same  magnetic  intensity  and  its  winter 
excess  of  positive  electricity  and  cold,  make  our 
winters  extreme,  there  are  but  few  of  the  productions 
of  temperate  latitudes  which  we  can  not  grow  suc- 
cessfully, and  they  are  comparatively  unimportant. 

This  excess  of  magnetic  intensity  and  electricity 
not  only  gives  a  peculiar  character  to  our  vegetation, 
but  also  to  our  race,  our  animals,  and  every  thing. 
He  who  supposes  that  the  restless  activity  and  en- 
ergy of  the  people  of  the  United  States  is  the  result 
of  habit,  or  education,  or  any  fortuitous  circum- 
stances alone,  is  mistaken.  Let  him  watch  the  con- 
trast in  his  own  feelings  during  those  occasional 
languid,  damp,  and  sultry,  although  not  thermom- 
etrically,  hot  days — which  so  much  resemble  the 
summer  weather  of  England — with  those  days  of 
bright,  bracing,  N.  W.  and  S.  W.  air,  so  much  more 
frequent  here,  and  he  will  appreciate  the  difference. 
That  term  "  bracing,"  so  much  in  use,  will  express 
the  effect  of  this  peculiar  weather.  It  "  girds  up  the 
loins,"  both  of  body  and  mind.  Men  and  animals 
can  work  with  more  ease,  even  in  our  peculiar  ex- 
tremes of  heat,  than  they  can  in  England,  and  fatten 
with  less. 

A  similar  difference  in  degree  is  found  between  our 
climate  and  that  of  the  Pacific  portion  of  our  coun- 
try. Something  is  due  to  the  difference  in  the  vol- 
ume and  moisture  of  the  counter-trades,  and  some- 
thing to  the  contiguity  of  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  but  to  the 


306 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


difference  in  magneto-electric  intensity,  the  contrast 
is  mainly  due.  Corn  and  cotton  will  be  grown, 
to  some  extent,  in  the  valleys  west  of  the  meridian 
of  105°,  but  never  as  successfully  as  east  of  it. 

The  aurora  is  periodical,  like  all  the  other  atmos- 
pheric phenomena,  but  its  periodicity  is  not  accurately 
ascertained.  It  is  believed  to  have  occurred  much 
oftener  during  the  second  quarter  of  this  century, 
than  during  the  first.  It  is  known,  however,  to  oc- 
cur most  frequently  in  the  spring  and  fall ;  and  dur- 
ing those  periods  when  the  active  and  rapid  transit  of 
the  atmospheric  machinery  produces  the  greatest  de- 
gree of  magnetic  disturbance.  This  identifies  it  with 
terrestrial  magnetism,  Dalton  gives  us  the  follow- 
ing table  of  observations,  arranged  according  to  the 
months  when  they  were  seen. 


feSi- 


;OQ  O  I!*; 


(1)11818268221  5 
(2)|21  IS  23  13  3  2 
(3)  21:27  22^2'  1:5 


2  21  23  36  8S 
1     3352222:21i 
7     9134)50  26  15 


4    810;  7  16   1411417    5 


6 


(1)  contains  those  observed  by  him  at  Kendall; 
(2)  are  taken  from  another  list ;  (3)  is  MARIAN'S  list 
of  those  observed  before  1732 ;  and  (4),  those  seen 
in  the  State  of  New  York  in  1828  and  1830. 

Mr.  Stevenson's  table  of  those  observed  by  him  at 
Dunse,  from  1838  to  1847,  inclusive,  is  as  follows : 


Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May.  June.  July.  Aug.  Sept,  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 
82     20      13       13       8          0  2        U        43       34       30      28 


THE    WEATHER.  307 

Observations  in  this  country  correspond  substanti- 
ally with  the  foregoing.  They  are,  however,  seen 
here  in  the  summer  months  more  frequently  than  in 
Europe.  See  an  article  by  Mr.  Herrick  (American 
Journal  of  Science,  vol.  33.  p.  297).  In  this,  also,  they 
conform  to  our  greater  magnetic  intensity  and  more 
excessive  climate. 

The  auroras  appear  to  follow  the  polar  belts  of  con- 
densation and  precipitation.  Dalton  considers  them 
indications  of  fair  weather.  They  are  often  most 
brilliant  just  after  a  storm  has  passed,  but  their  con- 
tinuance is  no  indication  that  another  will  not  follow 
within  the  usual  period. 

The  condensation  with  which  the  aurora  is  con- 
nected, is  not,  in  my  judgment,  often  in  the  counter- 
trade, or  below  it,  but  above,  where  feeble  condensa- 
tion has  been  seen  by  aeronauts  when  invisible  at  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  Neither  the  height  of  this  con- 
densation, not  that  of  the  aurora,  have  been  satis- 
factorily ascertained.  The  aurora  of  April  7th,  1847, 
Was  a  favorable  one  for  observation.  It  was  carefully 
and  attentively  watched  by  Professor  Olmsted,  Mr. 
Herrick,  Dr.  Ellsworth,  and  others,  and  they  are  in- 
telligent and  skillful  observers.*  But  the  nature  of 
the  aurora  forbids  reliance  on  parallax,  or  measure- 
ments founded  on  the  time  when,  any  portion  of  the 
bow  or  arch  rises  in  range  of  a  particular  star. 
The  bow  or  arch  moves  southwardly,  but  the  same 
rays  or  currents  do  not.  The  wave  of  magnetic 
activity  moves  south,  and  each  successive  current,  as 
it  is  reached  by  the  impulse,  becomes  luminous. 

•Their  estimate  was  100  to  120  mile*. 


308  THE  -PHILOSOPHY    OF 

Hence  the  observers,  when  distant,  do  not  see,  at  the 
same  time,  or  at  different  times,  the  same  rays.  The 
phenomenon  is  unquestionably  magneto-electric.  Elec- 
tricity becomes  luminous  in  a  vacuum,  and  De  la 
Kive,  by  combining  the  electric  currents  with  those 
of  magnetism,  produced  all  the  peculiarities  of  the 
aurora.  The  magnetic  currents,  passing  from  the 
earth,  have  associated  electric  ones  in  connection, 
and  these,  in  the  upper  attenuated  atmosphere,  be- 
come luminous.  Whether,  as  De  La  Eive  supposes, 
by  combining  with  the  positive  electricity  existing 
there,  or  because  the  associated  electric  currents  are 
then  in  excess,  not  being  intercepted  by  atmospheric 
vapor  and  returned  to  the  earth  in  rain,  we  can 
not  know,  nor  is  it  very  important  we  should. 

Having  thus  taken  a  general  view  of  the  nature  of 
magnetism  and  its  associated  electricities,  and  their 
connection  with  the  general  and  obvious  peculiarities 
of  climate,  let  us  approach  more  nearly  the  varied 
atmospheric  phenomena,  resulting  from  variations  of 
pressure,  temperature,  condensation,  and  wind,  and 
give  them  a  closer  consideration.  They  all  have  reg- 
ularity and  periodicity — they  all  occur  in  degree,  and 
in  connection  wiih  magnetism  and  electricity,  during 
the  twenty-four  hours  of  every  serene  and  normal 
summer's  day.  Grouped  together,  in  comparison 
with  the  changes  in  the  activity  and  force  of  the 
magnetic  elements,  their  connection  is  clearly  discern- 
ible. 

The  day  may  be  said,  with  truth,  to  commence,  in 
some  portion  of  the  summer,  at  4  A.M.  The  atmos- 


THE    WEATHEB.  309 

pheric*  does  at  all  seasons.  At  that  hour  the  barom- 
eter is  at  its  morning  minimum.  It  has,  as  we  have 
said,  a  perceptible  diurnal  variation  of  two  maxima 
and  two  minima.  Its  periods  of  depression  are  at 
4  A.M.,  and  4  P.M.,  and  of  elevation  at  10  A.M.,  and 
10  P.M.  The  difference  between  the  elevation  and 
depression  is  considerable  within  the  tropics,  where 
Humboldt  tells  us  the  hour  of  the  day  can  be  known 
by  the  height  of  the  barometer,  and  it  decreases  to- 
ward the  poles.  At  4  A.M.  it  is  then  at  one  of  its 
minima,  and  rises  till  10  o'clock. 

At,  or  about  the  same  period,  and  sometimes  when 
the  barometer  is  falling,  and  previous  thereto,  there 
is  a  tendency  to  fog  in  localities  subject  to  that 
condensation.  This  tendency  is  sometimes  observed 
at  the  other  barometric  minimum,  late  in  the  after- 
noon or  early  in  the  evening,  but  less  frequently. 
The  tendency  to  fog  condensation  is  greatest  in  this 
country  about  the  morning  minimum.  It  seems  to 
be  owing  to  the  influence  of  the  earth ;  it  is  confined 
to  the  surface  atmosphere,  and  is  apparently  pro- 
duced by  the  inductive  agency  of  the  negative 
electricity  of  the  earth.  It  disappears,  whether  it  be 
high  or  low  fog,  about  the  time  when  the  barometer 
attains  its  morning  maximum,  or  about  10  A.M. 

At  about  that  period,  when  there  has  been  fog, 
or  earlier,  when  there  has  not,  and  sometimes  as 
early  as  8  A.M.,  there  is  a  tendency  to  trade  conden- 
sation—cirrus  in  mid- winter,  and  a  cumulus  in  mid- 
summer, and,  during  the  intermediate  time,  a  tend- 
ency to  cirro-stratus,  partaking  more  or  less  of  the 


310  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

character  of  one  or  the  other,  according  to  the  sea- 
son. 

Temperature,  in  summer,  commences  its  diurnal 
elevation  about  4  A.M.,  also,  and  rises  till  about  2  P.M. 
From  that  time  it  falls  with  very  little  variation  till 
4  o'clock  the  next  morning.  It  has  but  one  maxi- 
mum and  one  minimum  in  the  twenty-four  hours. 

As  the  morning  barometric  maximum  approaches, 
and  the  heat  increases  the  magnetic  activity,  con- 
densation in  the  trade  appears,  or  induced  condensa- 
tion in  the  upper  portion  of  the  surface  atmosphere, 
that  portion  near  the  earth  is  affected  and  attracted — - 
and  the  "  wind  rises,"  according  to  the  locality,  the 
season,  and  the  activity  of  the  condensation.  The 
tendency*  to  blow  increases  with  the  tendency  to 
trade  and  cumulus  condensation,  and  continues  till 
toward  night,  when  it  gradually  dies  away,  unless 
there  be  a  storm  approaching.  As  the  heat  in- 
creases, and  stimulates  magnetism  into  activity,  the 
magnetic  needle  commences  moving  to  the  west,  its 
regular  diurnal  variation,  and  continues  to  do  so 
until  about  2  P.M.,  when  it  commences  returning  to 
the  east,  and  so  continues  to  return  until  10  P.M., 
when  it  moves  west  again  until  2  A.M.,  and  from 
thence  to  the  east,  till  8  A.M. 

•  Similar  variations  also  take  place  in  the  horizontal 
force,  as  evinced  by  the  action  of  the  magnetometer 
needle,  and  in  the  vertical  force,  as  shown  by  the 
oscillations.  So  that  it  is  evident  that  there  are  two 
maxima,  and  two  minima  of  magnetic  activity  every- 
day, shown  by  all  the  methods  by  which  we  measure 


Fig.  19. 

4.  Jf.  *  £   Af:    '          f  X  2£ 

ff      #    &    K     2      4     &     8     10    12     2      4 


^f~ 


X 


/A, 


^^ 


K 


N 


N 


-  \ 


X 


Baramiftr 


Ctt.Tn.nlut 
Clouds 


FUctria 
Tension 


declination 
o/Nndl* 


Horizontal 
fore  9 


THE    WEATHER.  313 

magnetic  action  and  force — more  than  double  at  the 
acme  of  northern  summer  transit  over  that  of  winter, 
and  proceeding  pari  passu,  with  the  other  daily 
phenomena — evincing  the  same  irregular  action 
which  the  other  phenomena  evince.  Still  another 
phenomenon,  which  has  a  daily  change,  is  electric 
tension,  or  the  increase  or  decrease  in  the  tension  of 
the  positive  or  true  atmospheric  electricity. 

The  following  table  shows  the  mean  two  hourly 
tensions  for  three  years,  at  Kew,  viz. : 


Hours. 12P.M.  2A.M.  4A.sc  6A.sc.  SA.M.  10AJC 

Number  of  observations.  655  7S4  804  566  1,047  1,013 

Tension 22.6  20.1  20.5  S4.2  63.2  88.1 

Hours. 12A.M.  2P.M.  4p.M.  6P.M.  SP.M.  lOp.M. 

Number  of  observations.  848  858        873  874  878  1,OOT 

Tension...                     ..   75.4  7L5       69.1  84.8  102.4  104 


From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  tension  of  electric- 
ity is  at  a  minimum  at  4  A.M.,  also,  that  it  rises  till 
10,  falls  till  4  P.M.,  but  not  as  rapidly,  rises  till  10, 
falls  again  till  4  A.M.,  or  the  close  of  the  meteorologic- 
al day — having  two  maxima  and  minima,  as  have 
most  of  the  phenomena  thus  far  considered. 

In  order  to  see  what  the  connections  between  these 
ever-present,  daily  phenomena  are,  and  their  con- 
nection with  other  phenomena,  and  that  we  may 
understand  their  normal  conditions,  I  will  trace  them 
approximately  in  a  diagram  (figure  17.) 

The  foregoing  diagram  of  the  daily  phenomena  of 
a  summer's  day,  when  no  disturbing  causes  are  in 
operation,  no  storm  existing  within  influential  dis- 
tance, and  no  unusual  intensity  or  irregular  action  of 

14 


314  THE*   PHILOSOPHY    OF 

any  of  the  forces  present,  affords  a  basis  for  consider- 
ing the  various  phenomena  of  the  weather  in  all  its 
changes  and  conditions. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  other  phenomena  do  not  all  de- 
pend upon  temperature  merely,  if  indeed  any  of  them  do. 

Temperature  has  but  one  maximum  and  minimum, 
and  that  is  exceedingly  regular,  and  does  not  corre- 
spond with  any  other. 

The  barometer  has  two;  electric  tension,  two; 
magnetic  activity,  two ;  condensation,  two — one  the 
formation  of  cloud,  and  the  other  the  formation  of 
fog  and  dew;  wind,  one — resembling  temperature 
in  that  respect,  but  embracing  a  much  less  period. 

Fog  forms  at  one  barometric  minimum,  and  cloud 
at  another. 

Fog  forms  at  one  period  of  the  magnetic  variation, 
cloud  at  another. 

The  formation  of  cloud  corresponds  with  the 
greatest  intensity  of  magnetic  action,  and  its  associate 
electricities.  But  the  oscillations  of  the  barometer 
do  not  correspond  with  either.  And  thus,  then,  we 
connect  them : 


CAUSE. 

Increase  of  mag- 
netic or  magneto- 
electric  activity,  as 
shown  by  declination 
and  increase  of  hori- 
zontal and  vertical 
force. 


EFFECT. 


Decrease  of  press- 


ure. 


Of  positive  electric 
tension. 

Of  surface  condens- 
ation, i.  e.,  fog  and 
dew. 


EFFECT. 

Increase  of  primary 
condensation. 

Of  wind. 

Of  electrical  dis- 
turbance and  phenom- 
ena in  the  trade  and 
its  vicinity. 


This  connection  is  equally  obvious  if  the  order  is 
reversed — thus : 


THE    WEATHER.  315 


CAUSE. 


Decrease  of  mag- 
netic or  magneto- 
electric  activity. 


EFFECT.  EFFECT. 


Increase   of   press- 


ure. 


Of  tension  of  at- 
mospheric electricity. 

Of  surface  condens- 
ation, i  e.,  fog  and 

dew. 


Disappearance  of 
primary  condensation. 

Of  wind,  and 

Of  electric  disturb- 
ance in  the  trade  and 
its  vicinity. 


If  we  examine  still  more  particularly  tlie  different 
phenomena,  we  shall  find  the  same  relative  action  of 
the  forces  carried  into  all  the  atmospheric  conditions; 
however  violent. 

1.  The  barometer  falls  when  horizontal  magnetic 
force,  and  a  tendency  to  cloud  and  wind,  increase ; 
and  rises  when  they  decrease.  This  corresponds 
with  the  character  of  the  irregular  barometric  oscil- 
lation. Barometric  depressions  accompany  clouds 
and  winds,  and  are  in  proportion  to  them,  and  are 
all  greatest  where  magnetic  force  is  greatest.  The 
barometer  also  rises  as  the  magnetic  energy  decreases. 
Do  the  magnetic  currents,  passing  upward  with  in- 
creased force,  lift,  elevate  the  atmosphere?  How, 
then,  are  we  to  explain  the  increased  range  of  the 
oscillations,  as  the  center  of  atmospheric  machinery 
is  reached,  where  magnetism  has  least  intensity,  and 
the  perpendicular  currents  are  less,  and  attraction  is 
less  ?  Attraction  is  greatest  where  intensity  is  great- 
est, and  there  the  barometer  stands  highest,  and  the 
diurnal  range  is  least.  Is  it  then  the  attraction  of 
magnetism  which  produces  the  barometric  oscilla- 
tions ?  If  so,  how  then  can  we  explain  the  diurnal 
fall  while  magnetism  is  most  active  ? 

Perhaps  we  have  not  yet  arrived  at  such  a  knowl- 


316  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

edge  of  the  nature  of  magnetism  as  is  necessary  to 
a  correct  answer  of  those  questions.  Faraday  has 
taught  us  that  the  lines  of  magnetic  force  are  close 
curves,  passing  into  the  atmosphere,  and  over  to  the 
opposite  hemisphere,  and  returning  through  the 
earth,  out  on  the  opposite  side  in  like  manner,  and 
back  again,  passing  twice  through  the  earth  and 
twice  through  the  atmosphere.  All  we  know  of  this 
is  what  the  iron  filings  indicate,  and  we  do  not  know- 
how  much  reliance  to  place  upon  the  indications  they 
give.  But  if  Faraday  is  right,  the  sun  will,  twice 
each  day,  intersect  and  stimulate  into  increased  activ- 
ity the  same  closed  magnetic  curve — once  when  it  is 
coming  out  of  the  earth,  during  our  day,  when  its 
influence  will  be  the  most  active,  and  once  when  it  is 
returning  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  earth ;  and  a 
second,  but  feebler  magnetic  and  electric  maximum, 
may  be  occasioned  by  its  action  on  the  opposite  and 
returning  closed  curve  of  the  same  current.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  con- 
ceive of  any  adequate  influence  exerted  by  the 
tension  of  vapor. 

So  the  mid-day  barometric  minimum  may  be 
caused  by  the  attraction  of  the  earth,  in  a  state  of  in- 
creased magnetic  activity  and  intensity,  upon  the 
counter-trade,  and  its  consequent  approach  or  settling 
toward  the  earth.  Observation,  as  I  have  already 
said,  pointedly  indicates  such  a  state  of  things.  So 
the  increased  magnetic  activity,  with  or  by  its  associ- 
ate electricity,  acts  upon  the  electricity  of  the  counter- 
trade, condensation  takes  place,  the  electricity  is  dis- 
turbed in  the  surface-atmosphere,  by  induction,  and 


THE    WEATHER.  317 

its  tension  is  changed.  Opposite  electrical  con- 
ditions are  induced  in  the  surface  strata,  and  attrac- 
tion takes  place.  The  air  moves  easily,  and  thus  the 
attractions  originate  the  winds.  Secondary  currents 
are  induced,  as  in  all  other  cases  of  electric  activity, 
and  winds,  in  different  strata  and  directions,  occur, 
with  or  without  cumulus,  or  scud  condensation,  ac- 
cording to  their  activity,  and  the  proportion  of 
moisture  of  evaporation  they  may  contain. 

I  am  well  aware  that  the  various  received  theories 
of  meteorology  attribute  condensation  to  the  action 
of  cold,  mingling  of  colder  strata,  etc.  But  I  think 
that  view  will  have  to  be  abandoned. 

It  assumes  that  moisture  is  evaporated  and  held  in 
the  atmosphere  by  latent  heat,  which  is  given  out 
during  condensation,  and  actually  warms  the  sur- 
rounding atmosphere.  Thus,  the  Kew  Committee 
undertook  to  explain  the  development  of  greater 
heat,  at  the  elevation  where  they,  in  fact,  found  the 
counter-trade.  But  how  unphilosophical  to  suppose 
a  portion  of  the  air  or  vapor  contained  in  it,  can  give 
out  to  another  adjoining  portion  more  heat  than  is 
necessary  to  produce  an  equilibrium.  This  can,  indeed, 
be  done  by  experiment — but  the  experiment  is  made 
with  currents  of  electricity.  How  unphilosophical,  too, 
to  talk  of  latent  heat  in  connection  with  evaporation, 
at  the  lowest  temperature  known.  Meteorologists  must 
revise  their  opinions  on  the  subject  of  condensation. 
This  latent  heat  has  never  been  actually  met  with ; 
on  the  contrary,  the  most  sudden  and  complete  con- 
densations of  the  vapor  of  the  atmosphere  are  at- 
tended by  as  sudden  and  extraordinary  productions 


318  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

of  cold,  and  consequent  hail,  and  the  connection  be- 
tween condensation  and  electricity  is  shown  by  too 
many  facts  to  permit  the  old  theory  to  stand. 

Fog  never  forms  with  the  thermometer  below  32°.  It 
is  mainly  a  summer  condensation,  especially  high  fog. 
It  has  been  attributed  to  the  cooling  effect  of  an  at- 
mosphere colder  than  the  earth,  but  it  often  occurs 
when  the  earth  is  the  coldest,  and  when  the  vapor, 
as  it  rises,  is  colder  than  the  air,  and  could  not  give 
out  heat  to  a  warmer  medium.  (See  American 
Journal  of  Science,  vol.  xliv.  p.  40.)  Again,  it  is  not 
mere  condensation,  but  a  formation  of  globules  or 
vesicles,  hollow,  and  the  air  expanded  in  them,  by 
means  of  which  they  float  like  a  soap  bubble  which 
contains  the  warm  air  of  the  breath.  Is  not  every 
vesicle  a  model  shower,  positively  electrified  on  the 
outside,  negatively  in  the  center,  or  the  reverse,  ac- 
cording to  the  strata,  with  the  air  expanded  in  the 
middle  by  the  excess  of  heat  which  negative  electric- 
ity detains  ?  Look  at  them,  as  they  attach  themselves 
to  the  slender  nap  of  the  cloth  you  wear,  when  pass- 
ing through  them,  and  see  how  many  of  them  it 
would  require  to  form  a  large  drop  of  rain.  The 
clouds  are  of  a  similar  vesicular  character,  and  rain 
does  not  fall  till  the  vesicles  unite  to  form  drops. 
Sudden  and  extreme  cold  is  indeed  produced  in  the 
hail-storm,  when,  above,  below,  and  around  it,  the 
temperature  is  unaffected.  Testu,  Wise,  and  other 
aeronauts,  have  so  found  it,  and  the  hail  tells  us 
it  is  so.  But  it  is  idle  to  say  it  results  from  radi- 
ation. All  the  phenomena  of  the  sudden,  violent 
hail-storms  are  electric  in  an  extraordinary  degree. 


THE    WEATHER.  319 

The  electricity  is  disturbed  and  separated — the  as- 
sociated heat  continues  with  the  negative,  and  leaves 
the  positive  portion  of  the  cloud,  and  a  correspond- 
ing reduction  of  temperature  results.  So  Masson 
found  in  his  eudiometrical  analytical  experiments 
^the  negative  wire  would  heat  to  fusion,  while  the 
positive  was  cold.  (See  London,  Edinburgh,  and 
Dublin  Journal  of  Science  for  December,  1853,) 
This  disturbed  electricity  is  diffused  over  the  vesi- 
cles. Listen  to  the  thousand  crackling  sounds  which 
initiate  the  clap  of  thunder,  and  may  be  heard  when 
the  lightning  strikes  near  you ;  produced  by  the 
gathering  of  the  lightning  from  as  many  points  of  the 
cloud  where  it  was  diffused,  to  unite  in  one  current 
and  produce  the  "clap"  or  "peal" — and  to  the  "pour- 
ing" of  the  rain,  which  follows  the  union  of  the  vesicles, 
after  the  excess  of  repelling  electricity  is  discharged. 

No  change  of  temperature  is  observed  when  fogs 
form,  except  the  ordinary  change  between  night  and 
day ;  and  it  seems  perfectly  obvious,  in  looking  at  all 
the  phenomena,  that  fogs  form  at  a  temperature  of 
70°  or  75°,  in  consequence  of  the  electric  influence 
of  the  earth  upon  the  adjoining  surface-atmosphere ; 
and,  when  formed,  they  withstand  the  most  intense  ac- 
tion of  a  summer  sun,  till  the  time  of  day  arrives  for 
the  barometric  and  electric  tension  to  fall,  condensation 
to  take  place  in  the  counter-trade  above,  and  wind  to 
be  induced.  Who  that  has  noticed  the  almost  blister- 
ing force  of  the  solar  rays,  as  they  break  through  a 
section  of  high  fog,  about  10  A.M.,  can  forget  them. 

Fogs  form  near  the  earth,  during  the  night,  when 
the  atmosphere  above  is  loaded  with  moisture  many 


320  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

degrees  colder,  and  yet  remains  free  from  condensa- 
tion. On  the  other  hand,  during  the  heat  of  the 
day,  and  of  the  hottest  days,  the  heavy  rains  condense 
above — nay,  they  frequently  fall  at  a  temperature 
of  75°  to  80°,  in  the  tropics,  and  of  50°  to  55°  in  mid- 
winter here. 

Thus  far,  an  adherence  to  the  opinion  that  condens- 
ation was  simply  a  cooling  process ;  the  driving  out 
of  its  latent  heat,  not  merely  to  another  body  to 
make  an  equilibrium,  but  "getting  rid  of  if  by  posi- 
tive active  radiation,  or  in  some  other  way,  so  as  to 
cool  off  and  condense,  has  involved  the  formation  and 
classification  of  clouds  in  obscurity.  Hopkins  (At- 
mospheric Changes,  p.  331)  laments  this,  but  fettered 
by  a  false  and  imperfect  theory,  in  relation  to  the 
tension  of  vapor,  he  falls  into  a  similar  error. 

Now,  there  are,  as  we  have  seen,  peculiar,  distinct- 
ly-marked varieties  of  cloud,  connected  with  peculiar 
and  distinctly-marked  conditions  of  the  atmosphere, 
irrespective  of  temperature.  None  of  the  theories 
advanced,  account,  or  profess  to  account  for  the  dif- 
ferences in  either.  No  modification  of  the  calorific 
theory  will  account  for  them.  They  differ  in  shape, 
in  color,  in  tendency  to  precipitation,  in  line  of  pro- 
gress, and  in  electrical  character.  The  explanation 
of  this  is  found  in  the  fact,  that  they  form  in  distinct 
and  different  strata,  partake  of  the  positive  electric 
character  of  the  one,  or  the  negative  of  the  other ;  or 
are  secondary,  induced  by  the  action  of  a  primary 
condensation  in  a  different  stratum.  There  is  not 
any  mingling  of  the  different  strata,  as  has  been  sup- 
posed ;  and  many  other  facts  than  those  to  which  we 


THE    WEATHER.  321 

Lave  alluded,  show  that  the  formation  of  cloud  is  a 
magneto- electric  process. 

The  observations  of  Eeid  show  that  every  violent 
shower  cloud  has  the  electricities  disturbed,  and  por- 
tions of  it  are  positive,  and  others  negative.  Howard 
gives  us  the  following  resume  of  Keid's  observations : 

"  From  an  attentive  examination  of  Reid's  observations  I  have 
been  able  to  deduce  the  following  general  results : 

"  1.  The  positive  electricity,  common  to  fair  weather,  often  yields  to  a 
negative  state  before  rain. 

"  2.  In  general,  the  rain  that  first  fatts,  affer  a  depression  of  the  bar- 
ometer, is  NEGATIVE. 

"  3.  Above  forty  cases  of  'rain,  in  one  hundred,  give  negative  electricity ; 
although  the  state  of  the  atmosphere  is  positive,  before  and  afterward. 

"  4.  Positive  rain,  in  a  positive  atmosphere,  occurs  more  rarely :  per- 
haps fifteen  times  in  one  hundred. 

"  5.  Snow  and  hail,  unmixed  with  rain,  are  positive,  almost  without 
exception. 

"  6.  Nearly  forty  cases  of  rain,  in  one  hundred,  affected  the  apparatus 
with  both  Icinds  of  electricity ;  sometimes  with  an  interval,  in  which 
no  rain  fell ;  and  so,  that  a  positive  shower  was  succeeded  by  a  nega- 
tive ;  and,  lice  versa  ;  at  others,  the  two  kinds  alternately  took  place 
during  the  same  shower ;  and,  it  should  seem,  with  a  space  of  non- 
ekctric  rain  between  them.'1'1 

Howard  attributes,  with  great  apparent  probability, 
the  successive  differences  in  the  electrical  character 
of  the  rain,  to  the  passage  of  different  portions  of  the 
cloud,  having  different  polarity,  over  the  place  of  ob- 
servation. So  positive  hail,  and  negative  rain  fall  in 
parallel  band's  from  the  same  cloud.  Many  such  in- 
stances are  on  record.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
he  is  describing  the  phenomena  in  the  showery 
climate  of  England. 

But  the  most  decisive,  perhaps,  as  well  as  practically 
important  evidence  of  the  influence  of  magnetism,  or 

magneto-electricity,  in  meteorological  phenomena,  is 

14* 


322  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

derived  from  the  action  of  storms.  My  observation 
has  been  limited,  for  my  life  has  been,  and  must  be, 
a  practical  one.  But,  subject  to  future,  and  I  hope 
speedy  corroboration,  or  correction,  by  extensive 
systematic  observation,  I  think  I  may  venture  to 
divide  all  storms  into  four  kinds : 

1.  Those  which  come  to  us  from  the  tropics,  and 
constitute  the  class  investigated  by  Mr.  Kedfield. 
That  these  are  of  a  magneto-electric  character  is  evi- 
dent. They  originate  near  the  line  of  magnetic  in- 
tensity, over,  or  in  the  vicinity  of,  the  volcanic 
islands  of  the  tropics ;  are  largely  accompanied  by 
electrical  phenomena ;  extend  laterally  as  they  pro- 
gress north  ;  induce  and  create  a  change  of  tempera- 
ture in  advance  of  them,  and  do  not  abate  until  they 
pass  off  over  the  Atlantic  to  the  E.  or  N.  Ev  and 
perhaps  not  until  they  reach  the  Arctic  circle.  Their 
extensive  and  continued  action  is  not  owing  to  any 
mere  mechanical  agency  of  the  adjoining  passive  air, 
or  other  supposed  currents,  originated,  no  man  can 
tell  how,  but  they  concentrate  upon  themselves  the 
local  magnetic  currents  as  they  pass  over  and  inter- 
sect them,  and,  by  their  inductive  action  upon  the 
surface-atmosphere,  in  different  directions,  attract  it 
under  them,  and  within  their  more  active  influence. 
Here  the  action  of  the  magnetic  currents  is  probably 
the  primary  cause,  but  the  power  of  the  storm  to  con- 
centrate upon  itself  the  new  magnetic  currents  which 
it  intersects  as  it  enters  each  new,  successive  field, 
enables  them  to  maintain  and  extend  their  action. 

The  following  diagram  illustrates  the  course  and 


THE    WEATHER. 


323 


gradual  enlargement  of  a  mid-autumn  tropical  storm, 
which  induces  a  S.  E.  wind  in  front,  and  occasions  a 
thaw. 

Fig.  20. 


2.  Another  class  originate  at  the  N.  W.,  and  ex- 
tend gradually  south  easterly  on  the  magnetic  me- 
ridian. These  are  most  frequent  in  summer,  forming 
belts  of  showers,  but  occur,  I  believe,  at  all  seasons 
of  the  year.  They  seem  to  be  produced  by  magnetic 
waves  passing  south,  and  are  followed  in  autumn  and 
winter,  and  sometimes  in  summer,  by  the  peculiar 
K  W.  wind  and  scud,  and  a  term  of  cooler  weather. 

Thus,  it  is  believed  that  many,  perhaps  all  of  the 
alternating  terms  of  heat  and  cold,  are  dependent  on 
magnetic  waves  passing  over  the  country  in  a  similar 
manner,  with  a  greater  or  less  belt  of  condensation 
between  them,  and  depending  on  peculiar  magnetic 


324  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

action  traveling  in  the  same  way.  The  S.  E.  exten- 
sion of  showers  and  storms,  and  the  cooler  changes 
of  temperature  which  immediately  follow  them,  with 
light  1ST.  W.  wind  in  mid-summer,  and  with  it  fresher 
at  earlier  and  later  periods,  in  the  form  of  northers 
blowing  violently,  according  to  the  season,  are  inti- 
mately connected,  and  indicate  such  waves.  The  in- 
dication is  strengthened  also  by  the  frequent  progress 
of  auroras  in  like  manner,  occurring  usually  after  the 
belt  of  condensation  has  passed,  and  frequently  fol- 
lowing it.  The  clouds  and  currents  of  the  atmos- 
phere, so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  discover,  show 
no  permanent  current  from  the  pole  to  the  atmos- 
pheric equator,  compensating  for  the  counter-trade ; 
and  that  compensation  is  furnished  by  the  periodical 
but  frequent  atmospheric  waves,  connected  with  the 
periodical  changes  of  storm,  and  cloud,  and  sunshine, 
which  gradually  extend  from  north  to  south,  in  or 
near  the  magnetic  meridian.  Perhaps  such  compen- 
sating currents  are  found  west  of  the  magnetic  poles, 
as  we  have  suggested,  and  make  the  N.  E.  and  north- 
erly dry  winds  of  Western  Europe  and  the  Pacific ; 
but,  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  that  they  are.  If  it  be  so,  the  com- 
pensation they  furnish  must  be  small ;  for  the  volume 
of  counter-trade  which  is  not  depolarized  before  it 
reaches  the  Arctic  circle,  and  which  passes  round  the 
magnetic  pole,  must  be  very  small.  A  majority  of 
our  periodical  changes,  during  the  northern  transit, 
and  I  believe  at  all  seasons,  are  of  this  character ; 
and,  I  have  reason  to  believe,  from  observation,  in 


THE    WEATHER.  325 

one  or  two  cases,  that  where  belts  of  rains  and  show- 
ers begin,  over  any  locality  in  the  United  States,  they 
may  assume  this  character.  I  have  been  in  Saratoga 
when  an  easterly  storm  commenced  south  of  that  place; 
the  condensation  and  mackerel  sky  being  visible  at 
the  south,  and  no  cloud  formation  or  rain  occurring 
there  at  the  time,  and  have  traced  it  afterward  as  a 
belt  which  had  a  lateral  extension  south-eastward. 
Leaving  that  place  immediately  after  a  belt  had  pass- 
ed south,  I  have  overtaken  it  by  railroad,  and  run 
into  it  again  before  arriving  at  New  York ;  and  wit- 
nessed its  subsequent  extension  south-eastwardly,  out 
over  the  Atlantic.  I  have  witnessed  the  approach  of 
such  a  belt  in  the  spring,  at  Sandusky,  upon  Lake 
Erie,  and  its  passage  over  to  the  S.  Ev  followed  by 
the  N.  W.  wind,  as  Mr.  Bassnett  describes  them  at 
Ottawa,  and  run  under  the  attenuated  edge  of  the 
same  belt,  on  the  same  day,  on  the  way  to  Pittsburg, 
leaving  the  N.  "W.  wind  behind,  but  finding  it  pres- 
ent again  with  clear  sky  on  the  following  morning. 
I  have  seen  hundreds  of  them  approach  from  the 
north,  and  pass  to  S.  E.,  out  over  the  Atlantic ;  fol- 
lowed by  the  N.  "W.  wind  in  spring  and  autumn. 
This  class  of  storms  pass  off  toward,  and  doubtless 
over  the  track,  of  our  European  steamers  and 
packets.  I  know  this,  for  I  witness  it  nearly  every 
month  in  the  year.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  spec- 
ulation, but  of  actual,  long-continued  observation. 
Probably,  as  one  approaches  the  Gulf  Stream,  and 
when  over  it,  its  induced  winds  may  be  more  violent. 
It  is  time  our  navigators  understood  this ;  and  that 
all  the  gales  of  the  North  Atlantic,  certainly,  are  not 


326 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


rotary ;  and  do  not  approach  from  the  S.  W.  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  class  investigated  by  Mr.  Bed- 
field  do.  Where  a  fresh  southerly  or  south-westerly 
wind  is  followed  by  any  considerable  cirro-stratus  or 
stratus-condensation,  it  is  usually  of  this  character. 

The  following  diagram  exhibits  the  peculiarities  of 
this  class  of  storms.  It  is  intended  to  represent  the 
same  storm  or  belt  of  showers,  on  two  successive  days, 
and,  of  course,  its  usual  rate  of  southerly  extension : 

Fig.   21. 


This  class  of  storms,   or  belts  of  showers,  present 
the  following  succession  of  phenomena  in  summer : 

1.  Still  warm  weather,  one  or  more  days. 

2.  Fresh  southerly  wind,  one  or  more   days;  if 
more  than  one,  dying  away  at  the  S.  W.,  at  night- 
fall, but  continuing  into  the  evening  of  the  day  before 
the  belt  of  condensation  arrives. 

3.  Belt  of  condensation,   with  or  without  rain  or 


THE    WEATHER.  327 

showers,  with  the  easterly  wind  blowing  axially,  if 
the  condensation  is  heavy  and  the  belt  wide ;  west- 
erly if  the  condensation  is  feeble  or  the  belt  narrow — 
the  clouds  moving  about  E.  K.  E. 

4.  Cooler  air,  light  N.  W.  in  summer,  heavy  N.  W. 
in  autumn,  winter,  and  spring. 

And,  the  next  period — 

5.  Still  warm  weather  or  light  airs. 

6.  Southerly  wind,  fresh. 

7.  Belt  of  condensation. 

8.  Cool  northerly  wind. 

And  so  on,  successively,  unless  broken  in  upon 
by  some  other  class. 

Sometimes  these  periods  are  exceedingly  regular, 
at  other  times  the  other  classes  prevail.  I  have  much 
reason  to  believe  that  this  is  the  normal,  periodic  pro- 
vision for  condensation  of  our  portion  of  the  north- 
ern hemisphere,  and  probably  of  every  other  where 
rain  falls  regularly  in  the  summer  season,  and  that 
the  other  classes  are  exceptions,  as  the  hurricanes  are 
exceptions  to  the  normal  condition  of  the  weather 
every  where.  Perhaps  in  some  seasons,  during  the 
northern  transit,  the  exceptions  may  equal  the  rule, 
but  I  do  not  now  remember  such  a  season.  In  other 
years  nearly  all  the  storms  are  of  this  character. 
Thus,  Dr.  Hildreth  (in  Silliman's  Journal  for  1827), 
speaking  of  the  year  1826,  in  a  note  to  his  register 
of  that  year,  says :  "  There  have  been,  this  year,  an 
unusual  number  of  winds  from  K".  or  N.  "W.  Nearly 
every  rain  the  past  summer  has  been  followed  with 
winds  from  the  northward,  when,  in  many  previous 
summers,  the  wind  continued  to  the  southward  after 


328  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

rain."  The  immediate  occurrence  of  northerly  wind 
after  the  passage  of  the  belt  of  condensation,  is  a 
peculiar  feature  of  this  class  of  storms. 

As  this  also  will  be  new,  and  is  of  great  practical 
interest,  I  shall  be  pardoned  for  referring  to  other 
evidence.  Bermuda  is  in  latitude  32°  north.  In  the 
summer  season  they  are  within  the  range  of  the 
Calms  of  Cancer,  as  Lieutenant  Maury  terms  them, 
and  not  subject  to  storms.  From  November  to 
May,  inclusive,  they  have  successions  of  revolving 
wind.  Colonel  Eeid  gave  them  much  attention,  and 
studied  them  barometrically :  that  is,  he  studied  the 
changes  of  the  wind  during  the  successive  periodic 
depressions.  He  found  them  revolving  like  ours, 
and  hence  inferred  the  truth  of  the  gyratory  theory 
in  relation  to  all  winds.  But  it  is  perfectly  evident 
the  same  polar  belts  which  pass  over  us  reach  them 
during  the  southern  transit.  The  precedent  south- 
erly wind,  the  central  condensation,  the  appear- 
ance of  lightning,  and  the  rotation  of  the  wind  by 
both  the  east  and  west,  but  most  frequently  by  west, 
are  the  same.  In  his  chapter  on  observations  at  the 
Bermudas,  he  gives  us  many  examples.  Probably 
the  existence  of  the  Gulf  Stream  to  the  west  and 
north  has  a  modifying  influence  upon  them,  and 
their  action  becomes  less  intense  in  that  latitude,  but 
they  are  very  similar.  I  copy  a  record  of  the  wea- 
ther, for  a  month,  which  may  be  found  on  pages  252, 
253,  and  254,  and  a  portion  of  his  remarks : 

"  The  month  of  December,  1839,  presents  a  continual  succession  of 
revolving  winds  passing  over  the  Bermudas,  with  scarcely  an  irreg- 


THE    WEATHER. 


320 


nlarity,  as  regards  the  fall  and  rise  of  the  barometer  accompanying 
the  veering  of  the  wind.  One,  however,  occurred  on  the  10th  and 
llth.  The  S.  W.  wind  abated,  and  changed  to  W.  X.  W.,  with  the 
barometer  still  falling.  But  in  the  column  of  remarks  it  is  noted 
that  there  was  lightning  seen  in  the  X.  and  X.  "W.,  from  7  P.M.,  dur- 
ing the  night.  This  irregularity  may,  therefore,  have  been  occasioned 
by  a  gale  passing  over  the  banks  of  Xewfoundland,  influencing  the 
direction  of  the  wind  at  Bermuda. 

"REVOLVING  WINDS. 


Date. 

Hour. 

Direction  of 

Wind. 

§8 

tl 

Weather. 

Bar. 

Ther. 

1839. 

Nov.  30 
Dec.     1 

Midnight. 
Noon. 

S.  S.  E. 
S.S.W. 

i 

3 

h.  c. 
b.  c. 

3006 
3007 

65 
71 

2 

44 

S.  W. 

5 

g.  in  q. 

29  86 

70 

3 

»' 

S.  S.  W. 

3 

g.  e. 

29  76 

41 

4 

u 

S.  W. 

6 

g.  m.  r.         2U  62 

68 

5 

44 

VV.  N.  W. 

5 

p.  q. 

29-56 

6 

44 

N.  VV. 

6 

p.  q. 

'29-55 

44 

7 

•i 

N.  N.  W. 

5 

1).  C. 

29-78 

70 

«• 

Midnight. 

N.  N.  W. 

3 

b.  t-. 

29-89 

68 

8 

Noon. 

W.  N.  W. 

2 

b.  c. 

29-82 

71 

9 

4. 

S.  S.  W. 

5 

}>.  q. 

29-84 

70 

10 

4« 

S.  W. 

2 

b.c. 

29-96 

11 

M 

W.  N.  VV. 

6 

b.  c.  m. 

*29-88 

68 

12 

4> 

S.  S.  W. 

b.  v. 

29-99 

69 

]3 

44 

N.  N.  by  W. 

u 

b.  v. 

3001 

66 

14 

44 

N.  N.  VV. 

5 

b.  c.  v. 

30-06 

64 

Midnight. 

N.  W. 

2 

b.  c.  p. 

30-05 

63 

15 

Noon. 

P.M.       2 

S.  W.  bv  S. 
S.  S.  VV. 

6 

g.  m.  r. 
m.  q.  r. 

29-72 
29-92 

65 
64 

>> 

'•        4 

S.  S.  VV. 

4* 

g.  m.  q.  r. 

29-55 

" 

6 

W.  S.  W. 

»• 

q.  w. 

*29.53 

M 

44 

8 

N.  W 

6 

b.  c.  q. 

29  54 

M 

44 

"       10 

N.  N.  VV. 

44 

b.  c. 

29.55 

M 

16 

Noon. 

N.  W. 

7 

b.  c.  in. 

29-53 

62 

17 
IS 

N.  VV.  by  N. 
N.  W. 

6 

j>.  q. 
c.  q. 

29-67 
2986 

60 

19 

20 

** 

N.  W.  by  N. 
N.  N.  W. 

7 

in.  q.  r. 
p.  q.c. 

*29-73 
29-89 

59 

58 

21 

44 

N.  \V.  by  N. 

6 

o.q. 

2996 

56 

Midnight. 

S.  W. 

1 

b.c. 

29-95 

55 

22 

D.iun. 

. 

0 

•• 

Noon. 

S.  IS.  W. 

5 

g  m- 

2983 

56 

M 

P.M.       4 

S. 

7 

g.  in. 

2979 

4* 

41 

6 

S.  S.  E. 

*« 

g.  in.  r. 

29fil 

H 

•  ( 

8 

S.  S.  E. 

•< 

w.  r. 

29-52 

ik 

«« 

"       10 

S.  E. 

" 

rn.  \v.  r. 

29-48 

•  ' 

23 

Noon. 

S.  W. 

6 

b.  c.  m. 

*29-44 

57 

24 

•• 

\V.  N.  W. 

«' 

b.  in. 

2971 

59 

25 

•> 

W.  N.  VV. 

5 

b.  c. 

2988 

5« 

26 

4- 

\. 

3 

r. 

30.09 

62 

27 

H 

S.  E. 

5 

c.  q.  r. 

30-07 

61 

28 

•« 

S.  \V. 

6 

c.  q. 

29-88 

66 

44 

Midnight. 

S.  S.  W. 

" 

b.c. 

29-76 

65 

29 

Noon. 

!S.  VV. 

7 

c.  h. 

*2948 

64 

30 

•4 

W.  N.  VV. 

6 

b.  r.  q. 

29.83 

55 

31 

N.  W. 

5 

b.  c. 

30-12 

58 

330  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


"Remark  printed  in  the  Register. 

"  The  changes  of  the  wind  during  the  December  gales  have  been 
nearly  the  same  in  all :  i.  e.,  commencing  with  a  southerly  wind  at 
first,  the  wind  has  veered  by  the  west,  toward  the  north-west,  some- 
times ending  as  far  round  as  N.  N.  "W." 


These  extracts  show  the  passage  of  several  success- 
ive belts,  each  with  the  phenomena  in  regular  order. 

The  first  commences  with  blue  sky  and  detached 
clouds,  barometer  up,  thermometer  down  t<x65°,  and 
nearly  calm,  on  the  30th  of  November. 

Dec.  1  (at  noon).  Wind  freshens  from  S.  S.  W. ; 
thermometer  rises ;  barometer  still  up. 

Dec.  2.  Barometer  has  fallen ;  thermometer  up ; 
wind  increasing  from  S.  W.,  with  gloomy,  squally 
appearance. 

Dec.  3.  Wind  S.  S.  W. ;  barometer  slowly  falling ; 
thermometer  slightly. 

Dec.  4.  Wind  fresh ;  S.  W. ;  condensation  and 
rain  has  reached  them,  and  it  carries  barometer  and 
thermometer  down. 

Dec.  5.  Wind  shifting  by  the  west,  and  squally. 

Dec.  6.  Winds  gets  K.  W.;  blows  fresh;  barom- 
eter at  its  minimum,  probably  at  the  time  of  the 
change  of  wind,  although  the  register  does  not  show 
the  precise  time. 

Dec.  7.  Wind  K  N.  W. ;  blue  sky  and  detached 
clouds  (N.  W.  scud),  cleared  off;  barometer  elevated 
by  the  K  W.  wind,  from  29.55  to  29.78.  Midnight : 
blue  sky ;  detached  clouds  (N.  W.  scud  probably) ; 
barometer  up  to  29.89  ;  thermometer  fallen,  from  the 
cooler  character  of  the  northerly  wind. 


THE    WEATHER.  331 

Dec.  8.  Wind  having  lulled  as  a  northerly  wind  has 
got  round  to  S.  "W.  again  ;  thermometer  up  ;  barom- 
eter falling,  and  another  belt  approaching,  and  so  on. 

The  first  and  last  part  of  December  show  each, 
two  regular  occurrences  of  substantially  the  same 
phenomena.  The  middle  is  somewhat  more  irregular. 

There  were  five  distinctly-marked  periods,  and  one 
squally,  long-continued  period,  with,  a  slight  tendency 
to  condensation,  and  a  slight  fall  of  barometer  and 
rain  on  the  19th  (N.  "W.  squall  probably),  but  not 
sufficient  to  reverse  the  wind  to  the  south.  In 
Colonel  Reid's  opinion  there  were  five  revolving 
gales  which  passed  over  Bermuda  during  the  month. 
In  my  opinion,  there  were  five  perfect  polar  waves  of 
condensation,  and  one  imperfect  one,  with  -as  many 
successive  southerly  winds  preceding  the  condensa- 
tion, with  or  without  rain  in  the  center,  followed  by 
as  many  cold  N.  W.  or  K.  N.  "W".  winds,  with  squalls, 
in  the  rear,  about  five  days  apart.  (See  the  *  in  the 
barometric  column.) 

We  are  at  issue.  Let  the  question  be  determined 
by  actual  observation^  and  not  by  speculation.  It  is  of 
fundamental  and  exceeding  importance  to  the  science. 

Now,  let  us  take  a  month  in  summer,  from  the 
observations  of  Mr.  Bassnett,  at  Ottawa.  Here  the  cli- 
mate differs  somewhat  from  that  east  of  the  Alleghan- 
ies ;  the  magnetic  intensity  is  greater,  and  the  action 
more  violent  and  irregular.  That  part  of  the  country, 
it  should  be  remembered,  has  a  greater  fall  of  rain  in 
summer,  for  reasons  we  have  stated,  and  those  peri- 
odic revolutions  are  more  frequent. 


332  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

"  A  brief  abstract  from  a  journal  of  the  weather  for  one  sidereal 
period  of  the  moon,  in  1853. 

"  June  21st.  Fine  clear  morning  (S.  fresh) :  noon  very  warm  88° ; 
4  P.M.,  plumous  cirri  in  south ;  ends  clear. 

"  22d.  Hazy  morning  (S.  very  fresh)  arch  of  cirrus  in  west ;  2  P.M., 
black  in  "W.  N.  "W. ;  3  P.M.,  overcast  and  rainy;  4  P.M.,  a  heavy  gust 
from  south ;  4.30  P.M.,  blowing  furiously  (S.  by  "W.) ;  5  P.M.,  tre- 
mendous squall,  uprooting  trees  and  scattering  chimneys;  6  P.M., 
more  moderate  (W.). 

"23d.  Clearing  up  (K  "W.);  8  A.M.,  quite  clear;  11  A.M.,  bands  of 
mottled  cirri  pointing  K  E.  and  S.  "W" ;  ends  cold  (W.  K  W.) ;  the 
cirri  seem  to  rotate  from  left  to  right,  or  with  the  sun. 

"  24th.  Fine  clear,  cool  day,  begins  and  ends  (N.  "W.). 

"25th.  Clear  morning  (K  W.  light);  2  P.M.  (E.),  calm;  tufts  of 
tangled  cirri  in  north,  intermixed  with  radiating  streaks,  all  passing 
eastward ;  ends  clear. 

"26th.  Hazy  morning  (S.  E.),  cloudy;  noon,  a  heavy,  windy-looking 
bank  in  north  (S.  fresh),  with  dense  cirrus  fringe  above,  on  its  upper 
edge ;  clear  in  S. 

"  27th.  Clear,  warm  (W.) ;  bank  in  north ;  noon  bank  covered  all 
the  northern  sky,  and  fresh  breeze ;  10  P.M.,  a  few  flashes  to  the 
northward. 

"  28th.  Uniform  dense  cirro-stratus  (S.  fresh) ;  noon  showers  all 
round;  2  P.M.,  a  heavy  squall  of  wind,  with  thunder  and  rain 
(S.  W.  to  N.  W.);  8  P.M.,  a  line  of  heavy  cumuli  in  south;  8.30 
P.M.,  a  very  bright  and  high  cumulus  in  S.  "W.,  protruding  through 
a  layer  of  dark  stratus  ;  8.50  P.M.,  the  cloud  bearing  E.  by  S.,  with 
three  rays  of  electric  light. 

"29th.  A  stationary  stratus  over  all  (S.  "W.  light);  clear  at  night, 
but  distant  lightning  in  S. 

"  30th.  Stratus  clouds  (N.  E.  almost  calm) ;  8  A.M.,  raining  gently ; 
3  P.M.,  stratus  passing  off  to  S. ;  8  P.M.,  clear,  pleasant. 

"July  1st.  Fine  and  clear;  8  A.M.,  cirrus  in  sheets,  curls,  wisps,  and 
gauzy  wreaths,  with  patches  beneath  of  darker  shade,  all  nearly 
motionless ;  close  and  warm  (N.  E.);  a  long,  low  bank  of  haze  in  S., 
with  one  large  cumulus  in  S.  W.,  but  very  distant. 

"  2d.  At  5  A.M.,  overcast  generally,  with  hazy  clouds  and  fog  of 
prismatic  shades,  chiefly  greenish-yellow ;  7  A.M.  (S.  S.  E.  freshen- 
ing), thick  in  W. ;  8  A.M.  (S.  fresh),  much  cirrus,  thick  and  gloomy ; 
9  A.M,  a  clap  of  thunder,  and  clouds  hurrying  to  N". ;  a  reddish  haze 
all  around ;  at  noon  the  margin  of  a  line  of  yellowish-red  cumuli 
just  visible  above  a  gloomy-looking  bank  of  haze  in  N.  N.  W.  (S. 
very  fresh);  warm,  8G°;  more  cumuli  in  N.  W. ;  the  ivhole  line  of 


THE    WEATHER.  338 

cumuli  N.  are  separated  from  the  clouds  south  by  a  clearer  space. 
These  clouds  are  borne  rapidly  past  the  zenith,  but  never  get  into  the 
clear  space — they  seem  to  melt  or  to  be  turned  off  N".  E.  The  cumuli 
ia  N.  and  N.  "W.,  slowly  spreading  E.  and  S. ;  3  P.M.,  the  bank 
hidden  by  small  cumuli;  4  P.M.,  very  thick  in  north,  magnificent 
cumuli  visible  sometimes  through  the  breaks,  and  beyond  them  a 
dark,  watery  back-ground  (S.  strong) ;  4.30  P.M.,  wind  round  to  N.  "W". 
in  a  severe  squall ;  5  P.M.,  heavy  rain,  with  thunder,  etc. — all  this  time 
there  is  a  bright  sky  in  the  south  visible  through  the  ram  15°  high ; 
7  P.M.,  clearing  (S.  "W.  mod.). 

"  3d.  Yery  fine  and  clear  (N.  "W.) ;  noon,  a  line  of  large  cumuli  in 
N.,  and  dark  lines  of  stratus  below,  the  cumuli  moving  eastward  ; 
6  P.M.,  their  altitude  2°  40'.  Telocity,  1°  per  minute ;  9  P.M.,  much 
lightning  in  the  bank  north. 

"4th.  6  A.M.,  a  line  of  small  cumulo-stratus,  extending  east  and 
west,  with  a  clear  horizon  north  and  south  10°  high.  This  band 
seems  to  have  been  thrown  off  by  the  central  yesterday,  as  it  moves 
slowly  south,  preserving  its  parallelism,  although  the  clouds  com- 
posing it  move  eastward.  Fine  and  cool  all  day  (N.  W.  mod.)— 
lightning  in  N. 

"  5th.  Cloudy  (N.  almost  calm),  thick  in  E.,  clear  in  "W. ;  same  all 
day. 

"  6th.  Fine  and  clear  (E.  light) ;  small  cumuli  at  noon  ;  clear  night. 

"  7th.  "Warm  (S.  E.  light) ;  cirrus  bank  N.  "W. ;  noon  (S.)  thickening 
inN. ;  6  P.M.,  hazy  but  fine;  8  P.M.,  lightning  in  N. ;  10  P.M.,  the 
lightning  shows  a  heavy  line  of  cumuli  along  the  northern  horizon; 
calm  and  very  dark,  and  incessant  lightning  in  N. 

"  8th.  Last  night  after  midnight  commencing  raining,  slowly  and 
steadily,  but  leaving  a  line  of  lighter  sky  south ;  much  lightning  all 
night,  but  little  thunder. 

"  8th.  6  A.M.,  very  low  scud  (500  feet  high)  driving  south,  still  calm 
below  (N.  light) ;  10  A.M.,  clearing  a  little ;  a  bank  north,  with  cirrus 
spreading  south ;  same  all  day ;  9  P.M.,  wind  freshening  (N.  stormy)  ; 
heavy  cumuli  visible  in  S. ;  10.30  P.M.,  quite  clear,  but  a  dense  watery 
haze  obscuring  the  stars;  12  P.M.,  again  overcast;  much  lightning  in 
S.  and  N.  W. 

11 9th.  Last  night  (2  A.M.  of  9th)  squall  from  N.  "W.  very  black ;  4 
A.M.,  still  raining  and  blowing  hard,  the  sky  a  perfect  blaze,  but  very 
few  flashes  reach  the  ground;  7  A.M.,  raining  hard;  8  A.M.  (N.  "W". 
strong) ;  a  constant  roll  of  thunder ;  noon  (N.  E.) ;  2  P.M.  (N.) ;  4 
P.M.,  clearing ;  8  P.M.,  a  line  of  heavy  cumuli  in  S.,  but  clear  in  N.  "W., 
NM  and  N.  E. 

"10th.  3  A.M.,  Overcast,  and  much  lightning  in  south  (N.  mod.); 


334  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

7  A.M.,  clear  except  in  south  ;  6  P.M.  (E.) ;  10  P.M.,  lightning  south  ; 
1 1  P.M.,  auroral  rays  long,  but  faint,  converging  to  a  point  between 
Epsilon  Virginis  and  Denebola,  in  west ;  low  down  in  west,  thick 
with  haze ;  on  the  north  the  rays  converged  to  a  point  still  lower ; 
lightning  still  visible  in  south.     This  is  an  aurora  in  the  west. 

"llth.  Fine,  clear  morning  (N.  E) ;  same  all  day;  no  lightning 
visible  to-night,  but  a  bank  of  clouds  low  down  in  south,  2°  high, 
and  streaks  of  dark  stratus  below  the  upper  margin. 

"  12th.  Fine  and  clear  (N.  E.);  noon,  a  well-defined  arch  in  S.  TV'., 
rising  slowly ;  the  bank  yellowish,  with  prismatic  shades  of  greenish- 
yellow  on  its  borders.  This  is  the  0.  A.  At  6  P.M.,  the  bank  spread- 
ing to  the  northward.  At  9  P.M.,  thick  bank  of  haze  in  north,  with 
bright  auroral  margin ;  one  heavy  pyramid  of  light  passed  through 
Cassiopeia,  traveling  westward  l£°  per  minute.  This  moves  to  tno 
other  side  of  the  pole,  but  not  more  inclined  toward  it  than  is  due 
to  prospective,  if  the  shaft  is  very  long;  11.10  P.M.,  saw  a  mass  of 
light  more  diffuse  due  east,  reaching  to  Markab,  then  on  the  prime 
vertical.  It  appears  evident  this  is  seen  in  profile,  as  it  inclines 
downward  at  an  angle  of  10°  or  12°  from  the  perpendicular.  It  does 
not  seem  very  distant.  12  P.M.,  the  aurora  still  bright,  but  the 
brightest  part  is  now  west  of  the  pole,  before  it  was  east. 

"  13th.  6  A.M.,  clear,  east  and  north ;  bank  of  cirrus  in  K  "W.,  i.  e., 
from  N.  N.  E.  to  "W.  by  S. ;  irregular  branches  of  cirrus  clouds,  reach- 
ing almost  to  south-eastern  horizon ;  wind  changed  (S.  E.  fresh) ; 

8  A.M.,  the  sky  a  perfect   picture  ;    heavy  regular  shafts  of  denso 
cirrus  radiating  all  around,  and  diverging  from  a  thick   nucleus  in 
north-west,    the   spaces  between   being  of  clear,   blue  sky.      The 
shafts  are  rotating  from  north  to  south,  the  nucleus  advancing  east- 
ward.    • 

"  At  noon  (same  day),  getting  thicker  (S.  E.  very  fresh) ;  6  P.  M., 
moon  on  meridian,  a  prismatic  gloom  in  south,  and  very  thick  stratus 
of  all  shades;  9  P.M.,  very  gloomy;  wind  stronger  (S.  E.) ;  10  P.M., 
very  black  in  south,  and  overcast  generally. 

"14th.  Last  night,  above  12  P.M.,  commenced  raining;  3  A.M., 
rained  steadily;  7  A.M.,  same  weather ;  8.20  A.M.,  a  line  of  low  storm- 
cloud,  or  scud,  showing  very  sharp  and  white  on  the  dark  back-ground 
all  along  the  southern  sky.  This  line  continues  until  noon,  about 
10°  at  the  highest,  showing  the  northern  boundary  of  the  storm  to 
the  southward;  8  P.M.,  same  bank  visible,  although  in  rapid  motion 
eastward;  same  time  clear  overhead,  with  cirrus  fringe  pointing  north 
from  the  bank ;  much  lightning  in  south  (W.  fresh) ;  so  ends. 

"  15th.  Last  night  a  black  squall  from  N.  W.  passed  south  without 
rain ;  at  3  A.M.,  clear  above  but,  very  black  in  south  (calm  below  all 
the  time) ;  9  A.M.,  the  bank  in  south  again  throwing  off  rays  of  cirri 
in  a  well-defined  arch,  whose  vortex  is  south :  these  pass  east,  but 


THE    WEATHER.  3b5 

continue  to  form  and  preserve  their  linear  direction  to  the  north  ;  no 
lightning  in  south  to-night 

"  16th.  Clear  all  day,  without  a  stain,  and  calm. 

"  17th.  Fine  and  clear  (N.  E.  light);  6  P.M.,  calm. 

"  18th.  Fair  and  cloudy  (N.  E.  light) ;  6  P.M.,  calm. 

"19th.  Fine  and  clear  (N.  fresh);  I.  Y.  visible  in  S.  "W. 

"  20th.  8  A.M.,  bank  in  N.  "W.,  with  beautiful  cirrus  radiations  ;  10 
A.M.,  getting  thick,  with  dense  plates  of  cream-colored  cirrus  visible 
through  the  breaks ;  gloomy  looking  all  day  (K.  E.  light)." 

The  letters  in  a  parenthesis  signify  the  direction 
of  the  wind. 

During  this  month  there  were  three  distinctly 
marked  periods  of  belts  of  showers,  preceded  by 
"  fresh"  or  "  strong"  south  wind,  and  followed  by  the 
N".  W.  There  was  a  period  when  a  belt  of  less  in- 
tense stratus,  without  much  wind,  occurred  (28th, 
29th.  and  30th  of  June).  This  was  followed  by  a 
distinct  belt  of  showers  and  fresh  S.  wind,  on  the  2d 
of  July,  and  by  the  N.  W.  wind  and  clear  weather, 
on  the  3d. 

During  the  rest  of  July  it  was  more  irregular,  with 
the  exception  of  the  7th,  8th,  and  9th,  when  another 
belt  and  revolution  occurred. 

Now,  these  periods,  when  distinctly  marked,  ex- 
hibit the  same  succession  of  phenomena — viz.,  eleva- 
tion of  temperature,  fresh  southerly  wind,  belt  of 
condensation,  cumulus  or  stratus  with  cirrus  run- 
ning east,  but  extending  south,  followed  by  N".  W. 
wind,  and  clear,  cold  air.  Can  any  one  believe  they 
were  successive  rotary  gales  ? 

I  wish,  in  this  connection,  to  make  a  suggestion  to 
Lieutenant  Maury  and  others.  The  descriptions  of 
M.  Bassnett,  although  not  perfect,  are  very  intellig- 
ible. He  describes  things  as  they  were,  and  as  they 


336  THE     PHILOSOPHY    OF 

should  be  described.  He  distinguishes  the  clouds, 
and  the  scud,  and  other  appearances. 

But  Colonel  Eeid's  descriptions  are  unmeaning  and 
unintelligible.  G.  M. — Gloomy,  misty !  Gloomy  from 
what  ?  fog,  or  stratus,  or  a  stratum  of  scud,  or  what  ? 
We  can  not  know.  Again,  C.  The  table  tells  us 
this  stands  for  detached  clouds.  But  of  what  kind? 
Cumulus,  broken  stratus,  patches  of  cirro-cumulus 
or  cirro-stratus,  or  scud  ?  All  these,  and  indeed 
every  kind  of  cloud  or  fog  formation,  except  low  fog, 
may  exist  in  detached  portions. 

These  abbreviations  will  not  answer ;  they  do  not 
describe  the  weather.  The  clouds  must  be  studied 
and  described.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  doing  it. 
Sailors  will  learn  them  very  soon  after  their  teachers 
have ;  and  those  who  teach  them  should  see  to  it  that 
the  logs  contain  terms  of  description  which  convey 
the  meaning  which  may,  and  ought  to  be,  conveyed. 
The  use  of  these  indefinite  terms  can  not  be  con- 
tinued without  culpability. 

Again,  the  observations  of  seamen  off  our  coast  are 
in  accordance  with  the  progress  of  this  class  of  storms 
on  land,  and  prove  that  they  continue  S.  E.  over 
the  Atlantic,  abating  in  action  as  they  approach  the 
tropics.  There  is  abundant  evidence  of  this  in  the 
work  of  Colonel  Eeid,  and  the  charts  of  Lieutenant 
Maury,  but  I  can  not  devote  further  space  to  them. 

The  third  class  form  in  the  counter-trade,  over 
some  portion  of  the  country,  from  excessive  volume 
or  action  of  the  counter-trade,  or  local  magnetic  activ- 
ity, without  coming  from  the  tropics  or  being  connect- 
ed with  a  regular  polar  wave  of  magnetic  disturbance. 


THE    WEATHER. 


337 


The  following  diagram  exhibits  their  form,  progress, 
and  accompanying  induced  winds 

Fig.  22. 


The  gentle  rains  of  spring,  particularly  April,  and 
the  moderate  and  frequent  snow-storms  of  winter,  are 
often  of  this  character ;  and  so  are  the  heavy  rains, 
which  commence  at  the  morning  barometric  mini- 
mum, rain  heavily  through  the  forenoon,  and  light 
up  near  mid-day  in  the  south,  followed  by  gentle, 
warm,  S.  W.  winds.  This  class  are  more  frequent  in 
some  years  than  others — probably  the  early  years  of 
the  decade,  while  polar  storms  are,  during  the  later 
ones.  It  is  this  class  which  have  violent  easterly 
winds  in  front,  and  on  the  south  side,  with  two  or 
more  currents,  and  which  Mr.  Eedfield  has  also  sup- 
posed to  be  cyclones. 

The  fourth  class  are  isolated  showers,  occurring 
over  particular  localities,  or  bells  of  drought  and 

15 


338 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 


showers  alternating  ;  sometimes  a  general  disposition 
to  cloudy  and  showery  weather  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  interval  over  the  whole  country ;  at  others, 
limited  to  particular  localities  in  the  course  of  the 
trade.  Such  a  period  occurred  during  the  wheat 
harvest  of  1855.  This  class  I  attribute  to  a  general 
increased  magnetic  action,  but  it  may  be  induced  by  an 
increased  volume,  or  greater  south  polar  magnetic  in- 
tensity of  the  counter- trade,  exciting  and  concentrating 
the  regular  currents  of  the  field,  and  increasing  their 
activity  and  energy.  These  also  often  work  off  south 
gradually,  and  are  followed  by  a  cold  N.  W.  air  for 
a  day  or  two ;  showing  a  tendency,  in  the  excited 
magnetism,  to  pass  as  a  wave  toward  the  tropics. 

The  following  diagram  will  give  some  idea  of  this 
class: 

Fig.  23. 


There  are  sometimes  very  obvious  local  tendencies 
to  precipitation  over  portions  adjoining  an  area  affected 


THE    WEATHER.  339 

with  drought,  as  there  are  other  magnetic  irregularities 
over  particular  areas. 

All  these  classes  of  storms  are  variant  in  intensity. 
Sometimes  the  general  or  local  cloud-formation  is 
weak,  and  does  not  produce  precipitation  at  all ;  so 
of  that  which  extends  southerly.  Probably  the 
tropical  storms  are  always  sufficiently  dense  and 
active  to  precipitate.  Their  action  is  often  violent 
over  particular  localities,  and  hence  the  more  fre- 
quent occurrence  of  the  tornado  over  the  more  in- 
tense area  of  Ohio,  and  other  portions  of  the  west. 
All  violent  local  storms  are  doubtless  owing  to  local 
magneto-electric  activity. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  reader  who  has  attentively  perused  and  con- 
sidered the  facts  stated,  and  the  principles  deduced, 
in  the  preceding  pages,  and  is  ready  to  make  a  prac- 
tical application  of  them  by  careful  observation,  will 
have  little  difficulty  in  understanding  the  varied  at- 
mospheric conditions ;  and  will  soon  be  able  to  form 
a  correct  judgment  of  the  immediate  future  of  the 
weather,  so  far  as  his  limited  horizon  will  permit. 

But  there  are  other  facts  and  considerations,  not 
specifically  alluded  to,  which  will  materially  aid  him 
in  his  observations ;  and  there  is  a  degree  of  philo- 
sophical truth  in  the  proverbs  and  signs,  which  an- 
cient popular  observation  accumulated,  and  poetry 
and  tradition  have  preserved,  that  meteorologists 
have  been  slow  to  discover  or  admit,  but  which  will 
be  obvious  upon  examination,  and  commend  them  to 
his  attention. 

The  classical  reader  is  doubtless  familiar  with  that 
part  of  the  first  Georgic  of  Yirgil,  which  contains  a 
description  of  the  signs  indicative  of  atmospheric 
changes.  Much  of  it  is  beautifully  poetic,  and,  if 
read  in  the  light  of  a  correct  philosophy,  is  equally 
truthful. 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    THE    WEATHER.     841 

I  copy  from  a  creditable  translation,  found  in  the 
first  volume  of  Howard's  "  Climate  of  London"- : 

"  All  that  the  genial  year  successive  brings, 
Showers,  and  the  reign  of  heat,  and  freezing  gales, 
Appointed  signs  foreshow ;  the  Sire  of  all 
Decreed  what  signs  the  southern  blast  should  bring, 
Decreed  the  omens  of  the  varying  moon: 
That  hinds,  observant  of  the  approaching  storm, 
Might  tend  their  herds  more  near  the  sheltering  stall." 

PROGNOSTICS. — 1st.    Of  Wind. 

"  When  storms  are  brooding — in  the  leeward  gulf 
Dash  the  swell'd  waves ;  the  mighty  mountains  pour 
A  harsh,  dull  murmur ;  far  along  the  beach 
Rolls  the  deep  rushing  roar ;  the  whispering  grove 
Betrays  the  gathering  elemental  strife. 
Scarce  will  the  billows  spare  the  curved  keel ; 
For  swift  from  open  sea  the  cormorants  sweep, 
"With  clamorous  croak ;  the  ocean-dwelling  coot 
Sports  on  the  sand ;  the  hern  her  marshy  haunts 
Deserting,  soars  the  lofty  clouds  above ; 
And  oft,  when  gales  impend,  the  gliding  star 
Nightly  descends  athwart  the  spangled  gloom, 
And  leaves  its  fire-wake  glowing  white  behind. 
Light  chaff  and  leaflets  flitting  fill  the  ah*, 
And  sportive  feathers  circle  on  the  lake." 

2d.   Of  Rain. 

'But  when  grim  Boreas  thunders;  when  the  East 
And  black-winged  West,  roll  out  the  sonorous  peal, 
The  teeming  dikes  o'erflow  the  wide  champaign, 
And  seamen  furl  their  dripping  sails.     The  shower, 
Forsooth,  ne'er  took  the  traveler  unawares  I 
The  soaring  cranes  descried  it  in  the  vale, 
And  shunn'd  its  coming ;  heifers  gazed  aloft, 
With  nostrils  wide,  drinking  the  fragrant  gale ; 
Skimm'd  the  sagacious  swallow  round  the  lake, 
And  croaking  frogs  renew'd  their  old  complaint 
Oft,  too,  the  ant,  from  secret  chambers,  bears 
Her  eggs — a  cherished  treasure— o'er  the  sand, 


842  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

Along  the  narrow  track  her  steps  have  worn. 
High  vaults  the  thirsty  bow ;  in  wide  array 
The  clamorous  rooks  from  every  pasture  rise 
With  serried  wings.     The  varied  sea-fowl  tribes, 
And  those  that  in  Cayster's  meadows  seek, 
Amid  the  marshy  pools,  their  skulking  prey, 
Fling  the  cool  plenteous  shower  upon  their  wings, 
Crouch  to  the  coming  wave,  sail  on  its  crest, 
And  idly  wash  their  purity  of  plume. 
The  audacious  crow,  with  loud  voice,  hails  the  rain 
A  lonesome  wanderer  on  the  thirsty  sand. 
Maidens  that  nightly  toil  the  tangled  fleece, 
Divine  the  coming  tempest ;  in  the  lamp 
Crackles  the  oil ;  the  gathering  wick  grows  dim." 

3d.   Of  Fair  Weather. 

11  Nor  less,  by  sure  prognostics,  mayest  thou  learn 
(When  rain  prevails),  in  prospect  to  behold 
"Warm  suns,  and  cloudless  heavens,  around  thee  smile. 

Brightly  the  stars  shine  forth;  Cynthia  no  more 
Glimmers  obnoxious  to  her  brother's  rays ; 
Nor  fleecy  clouds  float  lightly  through  the  sky. 
The  chosen  birds  of  Thetis,  halcyons,  now 
Spread  not  their  pinions  on  the  sun-bright  shore ; 
Nor  swine  the  bands  unloose,  and  toss  the  straw. 
The  clouds,  descending,  settle  on  the  plain; 
While  owls  forget  to  chant  their  evening  song, 
But  watch  the  sunset  from  the  topmost  ridge. 
The  merlin  swims  the  liquid  sky,  sublime, 
While  for  the  purple  lock  the  lark  atones : 
Where  she,  with  light  wing,  cleaves  the  yielding  air, 
Her  shrieking  fell  pursuer  follows  fierce — 
The  dreaded  merlin ;  where  the  merlin  soars, 
Her  fugitive  swift  pinion  cleaves  the  air. 
And  now,  from  throat  compressed,  the  rook  emits, 
Treble  or  fourfold,  his  clear,  piercing  cry; 
While  oft  amid  their  high  and  leafy  roosts, 
Bursts  the  responsive  note  from  all  the  clan, 
ThrilTd  with  unwonted  rapture— oh  !  'tis  sweet, 
When  bright'ning  hours  allow,  to  seek  again 
Their  tiny  offspring,  and  their  dulcet  homes. 
Yet  deem  I  not,  that  heaven  on  them  bestows 


THE    WEATHER.  343 

Foresight,  or  mind  above  their  lowly  fate ; 
But  rather  when  the  changeful  climate  veers, 
Obsequious  to  the  humor  of  the  sky ; 
"When  the  damp  South  condenses  what  was  rare, 
The  dense  relaxing— or  the  stringent  North 
Rolls  back  the  genial  showers,  and  rules  in  turn, 
The  varying  impulse  fluctuates  in  their  breast : 
Hence  the  full  concert  in  the  sprightly  mead — 
The  bounding  flock — the  rook's  exulting  cry." 

4th.  The  Moon's  Aspects,  etc. 

14  Mark  with  attentive  eye,  the  rapid  sun — 
The  varying  moon  that  rolls  its  monthly  round ; 
So  shalt  thou  count,  not  vainly,  on  the  morn ; 
So  the  bland  aspect  of  the  tranquil  night 
Will  ne'er  beguile  thee  with  insidious  calm. 
When  Luna  first  her  scatter'd  fires  recalls, 
If  with  blunt  horns  she  holds  the  dusky  air, 
Seamen  and  swains  predict  th'  abundant  shower. 
If  rosy  blushes  tinge  her  maiden  cheek, 
Wind  will  arise :  the  golden  Phoebe  still 
Glows  with  the  wind.    If  (mark  the  ominous  hour  I) 
The  clear  fourth  night  her  lucid  disk  define, 
That  day,  and  all  that  thence  successive  spring, 
E'en  to  the  finished  month,  are  calm  and  dry  ; 
And  grateful  mariners  redeem  their  vows 
To  Glaucus,  Inous,  or  the  Nereid  nymph." 

5th.  The  Surfs  Aspects,  etc. 

"  The  sun,  too,  rising,  and  at  that  still  hour, 
When  sinks  his  tranquil  beauty  in  the  main, 
Will  give  thee  tokens;  certain  tokens  all, 
Both  those  that  morning  brings,  and  balmy  eve. 
When  cloudy  storms  deform  the  rising  orb, 
Or  streaks  of  vapor  in  the  midst  bisect, 
Beware  of  showers,  for  then  the  blasting  South 
(Foe  to  the  groves,  to  harvests,  and  the  flock), 
Urges,  with  turbid  pressure,  from  above. 
But  when,  beneath  the  dawn,  red-fingered  rays 
Through  the  dense  band  of  clouds  diverging,  break, 
When  springs  Aurora,  pale,  from  saffron  couch, 
111  does  the  leaf  defend  the  mellowing  grape ; 


344  THE     PHILOSOPHY    OF 

Leaps  on  the  noisy  roof  the  plenteous  hail, 
Fearfully  crackling.     Ndr  forget  to  note, 
When  Sol  departs,  his  mighty  day -task  done, 
How  varied  hues  oft  wander  on  his  brow ; 
Azure  betokens  rain :  the  fiery  tint 
Is  Eurus's  herald ;  if  the  ruddy  blaze 
Be  dimm'd  with  spots,  then  all  will  wildly  rage 
"With  squalls  and  driving  showers :  on  that  fell  night, 
None  shall  persuade  me  on  the  deep  to  urge 
My  perilous  course,  or  quit  the  sheltering  pier. 
But  if,  when  day  returns,  or  when  retires, 
Bright  is  the  orb,  then  fear  no  coming  rain : 
Clear  northern  airs  will  fan  the  quiv'ring  grove. 
Lastly,  the  sun  will  teach  th'  observant  eye 
What  vesper's  hour  shall  bring ;  what  clearing  wind 
ShaU  waft  the  clouds  slow  floating — what  the  South 
Broods  in  his  humid  breast.    Who  dare  belie 
The  constant  sun  ?" 

I  copy  also  the  following  from  Howard  : 

"  Dr.  Jenner's  signs  of  rain — an  excuse  for  not  accepting  the  invi- 
tation of  a  friend  to  make  a  country  excursion. 

"  The  hollow  winds  begin  to  blow, 
The  clouds  look  black,  the  glass  is  low, 
The  soot  falls  down,  the  ppaniels  sleep, 
And  spiders  from  their  cobwebs  creep. 
Last  night  the  sun  went  pale  to  bed, 
The  moon  in  halos  hid  her  head, 
The  boding  shepherd  heaves  a  sigh, 
For  see !  a  rainbow  spans  the  sky. 
The  walls  are  damp,  the  ditches  smell ; 
Closed  is  the  pink-eyed  pimpernel. 
Hark!  how  the  chairs  and  tables  crack; 
Old  Betty's  joints  are  on  the  rack. 
Loud  quack  the  ducks,  the  peacocks  cry ; 
The  distant  hills  are  looking  nigh. 
How  restless  are  the  snorting  swine  !— 
The  busy  'flies  disturb  the  kine. 
Low  o'er  the  grass  the  swallow  wings ; 
The  cricket,  too,  how  loud  it  sings  1 
Puss,  on  the  hearth,  with  velvet  paws, 
Sits  smoothing  o'er  her  whisker'd  jaws. 


THE    WEATHER.  345 

Through  the  clear  stream  the  fishes  rise 
And  nimbly  catch  the  incautious  flies ; 
The  sheep  were  seen,  at  early  light, 
Cropping  the  meads  with  eager  bite. 
Though  June,  the  air  is  cold  and  chill ; 
The  mellow  blackbird's  voice  is  still ; 
The  glow-worms,  numerous  and  bright, 
Illumed  the  dewy  dell  last  night ; 
At  dusk  the  squalid  toad  was  seen, 
Hopping,  crawling,  o'er  the  green. 
The  frog  has  lost  his  yellow  vest, 
And  in  a  dingy  suit  is  dress'd. 
The  leech,  disturbed,  is  newly  risen 
Quite  to  the  summit  of  his  prison. 
The  whirling  wind  the  dust  obey 
And  in  the  rapid  eddy  plays. 
My  dog,  so  altered  in  his  taste, 
Quits  mutton-bones,  on  grass  to  feast ; 
And  see  yon  rooks,  how  odd  their  flight  1 
They  imitate  the  gliding  kite : 
Or  seem  precipitate  to  fall, 
As  if  they  felt  the  piercing  ball. 
'Twill  surely  rain ;  I  see,  with  sorrow, 
Our  jaunt  must  be  put  off  to-morrow." 

Howard  attributes  the  foregoing  to  Jenner ;  but 
Hone,  in  his  "  Every -Day  Book,"  attributes  it  to  Dar- 
\vin,  and  gives  it,  with  several  couplets,  not  found 
in  that  attributed  to  Jenner.  These  I  add  from 
Hone,  as  follows : 

"Her  corns  with  shooting  pains  torment  her— 
And  to  her  bed  untimely  send  her." 

That  couplet  is  included  by  Hone  with  what  is  said 
of  Aunt  Betty. 

"  The  smoke  from  chimneys  right  ascends, 
Then  spreading  back  to  earth  it  bends. 
The  wind  unsteady  veers  around ; 
Or,  settling  in  the  south  is  found." 
15* 


34:6  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

Those  are  as  philosophically  accurate  and  valuable 
as  any. 

"  The  tender  colts  on  back  do  lie ; 
Nor  heed  the  traveler  passing  by. 
In  fiery  red  the  sun  doth  rise, 
Then  wades  through  clouds  to  mount  the  skies." 

The  first  of  those  couplets  is  untrue.  It  is  doubt- 
less alluded  to  as  one  of  the  acts  of  the  animal  crea- 
tion, indicating  sleepiness  and  inaction,  which  pre- 
cede storms ;  but  colts  do  not  lie  on  the  back.  The 
other  couplet  is  both  true  and  important.  This  col- 
lection entire,  whether  written  by  Darwin  or  Jenner, 
contains  most  of  the  signs  which  have  been  preserved, 
and  which  are  of  much  practical  importance  in  our 
climate. 

It  is  unquestionably  true  that  "  appointed  signs 
foreshow  the  weather,"  to  a  great  extent,  every 
where,  but  with  more  certainty  in  the  climate  in  which 
Virgil  wrote  than  in  our  variable  and  excessive  one. 
"Showers"  and  "freezing  gales"  we  can,  perhaps,  as 
well  understand ;  but  the  " reign  of  heat"  by  which 
he  probably  meant  the  dry  period,  when  the  south- 
ern edge  of  the  extra-tropical  belt  .of  rains  is  carried 
up  to  the  north  of  them,  we  do  not  experience. 
Something  like  it  we  did  indeed  have,  during  the  ex- 
cessive northern  transit,  in  the  summer  of  1854 ;  but 
it  was  an  exception,  not  the  rule. 

Some  of  the  most  important  of  those  signs  from 
Virgil  and  Jenner  I  propose  to  allude  to  in  detail ; 
but  it  is  necessary  to  look,  in  the  first  place,  to  the 
character  of  the  season  and  the  month. 

We  have  seen  that  the  years  differ  during  different 


THE    WEATHER.  347 

periods  of  the  same  decade.  That  they  incline  to  be 
hot  and  irregular  during  the  early  part  of  it,  and 
cool,  regular,  and  productive  during  the  latter  por- 
tion— subject,  however,  to  occasional  exceptions. 
The  latter  half  of  the  third  decade  of  this  century 
(1826  to  1830,  inclusive)  was  comparatively  warm ; 
and,  in  the  latitude  of  41°,  was  very  unhealthy,  and 
so  continued  during  the  early  part  of  the  next,  over 
the  hemisphere,  embracing  the  cholera  seasons.  The 
spots  upon  the  sun  were  much  less  numerous  than 
usual,  during  the  latter  half  of  the  third  decade.  Thus 
the  spots  from 

1826  to  1830,  inclusive,  were  873 
1836  to  1840  "  "  1201 

1846  to  1850  "  "  1168 

and  the  size  of  those  from  1836  to  1840  exceeded  those  of  the  other 

years. 

The  attentive  observer  will  very  soon  be  satisfied 
that  the  seasons  have  a  character ;  and  those  of  every 
year  differ  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  from  those 
of  other  years  in  the  same  decade,  and  those  of 
one  decade  not  unfrequently  from  those  of  some 
other.  Periodicity  is  stamped  upon  all  of  them,  and 
upon  all  resulting  consequences.  Like  seasons  come 
lound,  and,  like  productiveness  or  unproductiveness, 
healthy  or  epidemic  diatheses,  attend  them.  "We 
Lave  seen  that,  in  relation  to  mean  temperature,  there 
are  such  periodical  diversities,  but  they  are  more 
stiongly  marked  in  the  character  of  storms,  and  other 
successions  of  phenomena.  "  All  signs  fail  in  a 
drouth"  for  then  all  attempts  at  condensation  are 
partial,  imperfect,  and  ineffectual.  "It  rains  very 


348  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

easy"  it  is  said,  at  other  times,  and  so  it  seems  to  do, 
and  with  comparatively  little  condensation.  In  the 
one  case,  no  great  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  indi- 
cations which  are  entirely  reliable  in  the  other.  So 
"  all  our  storms  clear  off  cold"  or,  u  all  our  storms  clear 
off  warm"  are  equally  common  expressions — as  the 
prevailing  classes  of  storms  give  a  character  to  the  sea- 
sons. It  "  rains  every  Sunday  now"  is  sometimes 
said,  and  is  often  peculiarly  true — the  storm  waves 
having  just  then  a  weekly  or  semi-weekly  period, 
and  one  falls  upon  Sunday  for  several  successive 
weeks ;  and  when  it  is  so,  that  coincidence  is  sure  to 
be  noticed  and  commented  upon,  and  the  other  per 
haps  disregarded. 

If  the  seasons  depended  upon  the  northward  and 
southward  journey  of  the  sun  alone,  entire  regularity 
might  be  expected — for  we  have  no  reason  to  believe 
that  magnetism  and  electricity  contain,  within  them- 
selves, inherently,  any  tendency  to  irregularity,  or 
periodicity ;  and,  the  sun  being  constant  in  his  pe- 
riods, would  be  constant  in  his  influence.  But  he  is 
inconstant  and  variable  in  his  influence,  and  it  is  ap- 
parently traceable  to  the  existence  of  spots ;  but  I 
am  not  quite  sure  that  it  is  occasioned  by  the  observ- 
able spots  alone.  Grant  that  the  intensity  and  power 
of  his  rays  differ  on  the  same  day,  in  different  years, 
and  that  difference  may  be  attributable  in  part  to 
causes  which  our  telescopes  can  not  discover. 

But  the  differences  in  the  seasons  do  not  depend 
on  the  variability  of  the  sun's  influence  alone.  This 
appears  from  the  frequent  meridional  and  latitudinal 


THE    WEATHER.  .      34:9 

diversities  and  contrasts,  to  which  allusion  has  been 
made.  The  sun  can  not  be  supposed  to  exert  a  less  in- 
fluence on  a  middle,  than  a  more  northern  latitude ; 
nor  on  one  series  of  meridians,  than  another.  There 
must,  therefore,  be  another  local  and  powerful  dis- 
turbing cause,  varying  the  magnetic  and  electric 
activity  and  influence  upon  the  trades,  as  well  in 
their  incipiency  as  in  their  circuits,  and  thus  con- 
trolling the  atmospheric  conditions  locally  and  in  Hie 
opposite  hemispheres.  That  other  disturbing  cause  is 
volcanic  action.  We  can  conceive  of  none  other,  and 
we  can  detect  and  trace  the  influence  of  that  to  a 
considerable  extent.  Unfortunately  we  know,  and 
can  practically  know,  comparatively  little  of  it.  It 
has  been  busy  with  the  earth  since  the  creation,  and 
will  continue  to  be  so  till,  possibly,  by  a  collision, 
it  shall  burst  into  asteroids — its  molten  interior  flow- 
ing out  in  seeming  combustion — each  fragment  re- 
taining its  magnetic  polarities  entire,  and  continuing 
on  in  an  independent  orbit  in  the  heavens,  an  aster- 
oid, or  meteorite. 

While,  therefore,  the  agency  of  magnetism  in  itself 
may  be  regular,  and  the  transit  of  the  sun  is  regular, 
and  "seed-time  and  harvest  shall  not  cease,"  yet  the 
sun  is  not  regular  in  his  influence,  and  the  magnetic 
agency  is  disturbed  by  another  and  irregular  power. 
And,  although  we  can  trace  the  influence  of  both 
upon  the  seasons,  we  can  not  measure  that  influence, 
and  from  it  reliably  foretell  the  weather.  The  dis- 
coveries of  Swabe,  and  future  ones,  relative  to  solar 
irregularities,  will  assist  us,  but,  till  we  understand 


350     .  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

better,  and  to  some  extent  anticipate,  the  changes 
of  volcanic  action,  we  shall  not  be  able  to  under- 
stand or  foresee  all  the  differences  in  the  seasons. 
That  time  may  come  ;  for  progress  is  yet  to  be  read 
in  the  front  of  meteorology,  and  simultaneous  prac- 
tical observations  made  and  interchanged  at  every 
important  point  on  the  globe.  Nevertheless,  the 
seasons  have  a  character — often  a  regular  one — one 
class  of  storms  prevailing  over  all  others — one  series 
of  phenomena  occurring  to  the  exclusion  of  others — 
and  we  must  regard  it  if  we  would  arrive  at  intelli- 
gent estimates  of  their  future  condition. 

The  most  difficult  part  to  understand  are  the 
meridional  contrasts.  Last  year  we  had  one  of  the 
worst  drouths  which  has  occurred  since  the  settlement 
of  the  country.  But  while  all  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  United  States  was  dry,  New  Mexico  was  un- 
usually wet ;  and  the  North-western  States,  on  the 
same  curving  line  of  the  counter-trade,  were  not 
affected  by  the  drouth. 

Extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Governor  Merri- 
weather,  to  Mr.  Bennett,  in  answer  to  a  circular, 
published  in  the  "New  York  Herald,"  and  dated 

"SANTA  FE,  NEW  MEXICO,  Oct.  25th,  1854. 

"  More  rain  has  fallen  during  the  last  six  ri-onths,  within  this  territory, 
than  ever  was  known  to  have  fallen  in  the  same  length  of  time,  in 
this  usually  dry  climate.  Generally,  little  or  no  crops  have  been 
produced  without  irrigation  ;  but  this  season  some  good  crops  have 
been  produced  without  any  artificial  watering." 

We  have  seen  that  there  was  an  apparent  connec- 
tion between  the  remarkable  volcanic  action,  exerted 
beneath  the  western  continents  during  the  second  de- 


THE    WEATHER.  351 

cade  of  this  century,  and  the  remarkable  coldness  of 
that  decade.  And  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  compara- 
tive absence  of  volcanic  action  from  immediately 
beneath  the  Old  World,  and  its  presence  in  great  ex- 
cess beneath  the  New,  may  disturb  the  regular  action 
of  terrestrial  magnetism  above  it  in  the  earth's-crust 
here,  and  affect  seasons,  diatheses,  and  health  unfa- 
vorably ;  while  from  its  absence  they  may  be  favor- 
ably affected  there.  I  have  some  general  views  in 
relation  to  this,  but  they  are  necessarily  speculative, 
for  the  data  are  few,  and  I  reserve  them. 

I  am,  however,  induced  to  believe  that  the  transit 
of  the  atmospheric  machinery  is  greater  over  some 
portions  of  the  northern  hemisphere,  in  some  sea- 
sons, than  others.  The  most  natural  explanation  of 
the  unusual  contrast  between  the  drouth  of  the 
Eastern  States,  and  the  wet  of  the  Territories,  during 
the  last  summer,  is,  that  the  concentrated  counter- 
trade was  carried  west,  by  some  irregular  magnetic 
action  in  the  South  Atlantic  or  West  Indies.  But 
there  was  much  evidence  that  the  northern  extension 
of  the  atmospheric  machinery  was  greater  than  usual. 
The  transit  began  early — it  was  evidently  rapid  ;  the 
rains  of  May  fell  in  April,  and  the  spring  was  wet ; 
summer  set  in  earlier — all  the  appearances  then  were 
unusually  tropical — the  polar  belts  of  condensation 
descended  upon  us,  but  they  were  feeble,  as  they 
doubtless  become,  when  they  reach  the  tropics,  and 
did  not  precipitate ;  the  summer  continued  full 
twenty  da}rs  later — no  rain  falling  till  about  the  10th 
of  September.  The  season  throughout  was  exces- 


352  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

sive,  but  otherwise  regular.  Spring  came  earlier; 
summer  commenced  earlier  and  continued  longer; 
autumn  held  off  later,  and  cold  weather,  when  it 
came,  was  uniform  and  severe.  This  season  the 
transit  has  seemed  to  be  less  than  for  several  years.* 
The  spring  was  backward ;  the  summer  cool,  but  ex- 
ceedingly regular  ;  the  autumn  thus  far  without  ex^ 
tremes,  and  the  whole  year  healthy  and  productive. 
It  is  the  normal  period  of  the  decade,  between  the 
irregular  heat  of  the  first  part,  and  the  irregular  cold 
of  the  last ;  and  it  has  been  normal  in  character, 
and  conformed  beautifully  to  its  location.  If  the 
transit  of  1854  was  further  north  than  the  mean,  as 
it  seemed  to  be  over  this  country,  that  of  itself  would 
convey  the  showers  which  follow  up  in  the  western 
portion  of  the  concentrated  trade,  on  the  east  of  the 
mountains  of  Mexico,  and  cause  them  to  precipitate 
further  north,  over  New  Mexico,  and  thus,  rather 
than  from  a  diverted  trade,  they  may  have  derived 
their  unusual  supply  of  moisture  'during  the  summer 
of  1854.  On  this  subject  I  can  but  conjecture,  and 
leave  to  future  observation  a  discovery  of  the  truth. 

Enough  appears,  however,  to  show  the  importance 
of  taking  the  location  of  the  year  in  the  decade,  and 
even  the  character  of  the  decade  itself,  into  the  account. 

But  whatever  the  remote  cause  of  the  difference 
in  the  seasons,  the  character  of  the  seasons  is  directly 
influenced  by  the  character  of  storms,  or  periodic 

*  Since  the  text  was  in  type,  and,  as  might  have  been  anticipated, 
we  have  intelligence  confirmatory  of  this,  from  the  Cape  De  Verde 
Islands.  The  mter-tropical  belt  of  rains  has  not  moved  as  far  north 
as  the  northern  islands — they  have  had  no  rain — and  the  people  are 
in  a  starving  condition. 


THE    WEATHER.  353 

changes.  Sometimes  the  tropical  storms  are  most 
numerous  •  at  others  the  polar  waves ;  and  at  others 
the  irregular  local  storms,  or  general  tendency  to 
showers.  The  seasons  when  the  polar  waves  are 
most  prevalent,  are  the  most  regular,  healthy,  and 
productive.  Those  where  the  tropical  tendency  is 
greatest,  are  irregular ;  and  so  are  those  where  the 
other  classes  predominate.  These  differences  in  the 
character  of  the  storms,  are  but  the  varying  forms  in 
which  magnetic  action  develops  itself.  I  have 
said  that  there  was  a  decided  tendency  to  cirrus 
without  cumulus,  in  mid- winter,  and  cumulus  with- 
out cirro-stratus  or  stratus,  in  midsummer,  and  dur- 
ing the  intermediate  time  an  intermediate  tendency. 
But  there  is  a  difference  between  spring  and  autumn. 
Dry  westerly  (not  N.  W.)  gales  prevail  in  March, 
and  N.  E.  storms  in  April  and  May,  but  violent 
S,  E.  gales  are  not  as  common.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  dry  westerly  gales  of  March  are  comparatively 
unknown  in  autumn,  and  the  violent,  tropical,  south- 
easters  are  then  common. 

Snow-storms  occur  during  the  northern  transit, 
not  unfrequently  in  April  and  May ;  but  they  do 
not  occur  so  near  the  acme  of  the  northern  transit  on 
its  return  ;  nor  until  it  approaches  very  near  its  south- 
ern limit.  The  quiet,  warm,  and  genial  air  of  April, 
is  reproduced  in  the  Indian  summer  of  autumn,  but 
they  present  widely  different  appearances.  Those, 
and  many  other  peculiarities  of  the  seasons,  deserve 
the  attentive  consideration  of  every  one  who  would 
become  familiar  with  the  weather  and  its  prognos- 
tics. 


354  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OP 

These  irregularities  in  the  character  of  the  seasons 
have  doubtless  always  existed,  and  always  been  the 
objects  of  popular  observation.  There  are  some 
very  old  proverbs  which  show  this.  I  copy  a  few 
of  the  many,  which  may  be  found  in  Foster's  collec- 
tion. Mr.  Graham  Hutchison  does  not  seem  to  think 
any  of  those  ancient  proverbs  worthy  of  notice. 
But  he  misjudges.  They  are  the  result  of  popular 
observation,  and  many  of  them  accord  with  the 
true  philosophy  of  the  weather. 

Irregular  seasons  are  unhealthy,  and  unreliable  for 
productiveness.  When  the  southern  transit  was  late, 
or  limited,  and  the  autumn  ran  into  winter,  our 
ancestors  feared  the  consequences  in  both  particulars, 
and  expressed  their  fears,  and  hopes  also,  in  prov- 
erbs. Thus, 

"  A  green  winter 
Makes  a  fat  churchyard." 

There  is  very  great  truth  in  this  proverb.     Again, 

"If  the  grass  grows  green  in  Janiveer, 
It  will  grow  the  worse  for  it  all  the  year." 

This  is  emphatically  true,  for  the  season  which 
commences  irregularly  will  be  likely  to  continue  to 
be  irregular  in  other  respects. 

Another  of  the  same  tenor : 

"  If  Janiveer  Calends  bo  summerly  gay, 
It  will  be  winterly  weather  till  Calends  of  May." 

Janiveer  is  an  alteration  of  the  French  name  for 
January,  and  the  proverb  is  very  old. 

So  March  should  be  normally   dry  and  windy. 


THE    WEATHER.  855 

This,  too,  they  understood,  and  hence  the  strong 
proverb : 

"A  bushel  of  March  dust 
la  worth  a  king's  ransom." 

And  another : 

"  March  hack  ham, 
Come  in  like  a  lion,  go  out  like  a  lamb." 

So  April  and  May  should  be  cool  and  moist.  It 
is  their  normal  condition  in  regular,  healthy,  and 
productive  seasons.  The  grass  and  grain  require 
such  conditions  ;  and  the  spring  rains  are  needed  to 
supply  the  excessive  summer  evaporation.  This, 
too,  they  well  understood.  And  hence  the  prov- 
erbs : 

"  A  cold  April  the  barn  will  fill" 

"  A  cool  May,  and  a  windy, 
Makes  a  full  barn  and  a  findy." 

And— 

"  April  and  May  are  the  keys  of  the  year." 

This  was  not  very  favorable,  to  be  sure,  for  corn  ; 
but  their  consolation  was  found,  as  we  find  it,  in  the 
truth  of  another  proverb : 

"  Look  at  your  corn  in  May,  and  you'll  come  sorrowing  away ; 
Look  again  in  June,  and  you'll  come  singing  in  another  tune." 

This  difference  in  the  character  of  the  seasons  oc- 
casioned the  adoption  of  a  great  variety  of  "  Almanac 
days ;"  and  they  are  still  very  much,  regarded. 
Candlemas-day  (2d  of  February)  was  one  of  them, 

Says  Hone,  in  his  "  E very-Day  Book" : 

"Bishop  Hall,  in  a  sermon,  on  Candlemas-day,  remarks,  that  'it 
has  been  (I  say  not  how  true)  an  old  note,  that  hath  been  wont  to 


356  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF. 

*  be  set  on  this  day,  that  if  it  be  clear  and  sunshiny,  it  portends  hard 
weather  to  come ;  if  cloudy  and  lowering,  a  mild  and  gentle  season 
ensuing.' " 

To  the  same  effect  is  one  of  Kay's  proverbs : 

"  The  hind  had  as  lief  see 
His  wife  on  her  bier, 
As  that  Candlemas-day 
Should  be  pleasant  and  clear." 

St.  Paul's  day,  or  the  25th  of  January,  was  another 
great  "Almanac  day,"  and  so  the  verse: 

"  If  Saint  Paul's  day  be  fair  and  clear, 
It  does  betide  a  happy  year ; 
But  if  it  chance  to  snow  or  rain, 
Then  will  be  dear  all  kinds  of  grain. 
If  clouds  or  mists  do  dark  the  sky, 
Great  store  of  birds  and  beasts  shall  die; 
And  if  the  winds  do  fly  aloft, 
Then  war  shall  vex  the  kingdom  oft." 

St.  Swithin's  day  was  another  of  these  "Almanac 
days."  Gay  said  truly, 

"  Let  no  such  vulgar  tales  debase  thy  mind ; 
Nor  Paul,  nor  Swithin,  rule  the  clouds  or  wind." 

Yet  "Almanac  days"  are  still  in  vogue  to  a  consider- 
able extent — such  as  the  three  first  days  of  the  year, 
old  style — the  first  three  of  the  season — the  last  of 
the  season — different  days  of  the  month — of  the 
lunation,  etc.,  etc.  And  some  still  look  to  the  breast- 
bone of  a  goose,  in  the  fall,  to  judge,  by  its  white- 
ness, whether  there  is  to  be  much  snow  during  the 
winter,  etc. 


THE    WEATHER.  357 

These  Almanac  days  should  all  be  abandoned;  they 
have  no  foundation  in  philosophy  or  truth.  There 
is  one  proverb,  however,  in  relation  to  Candlemas- 
day,  which  the  "  oldest  inhabitant"  will  remember, 
and  which  it  may  be  well  to  retain.  It  has  a  practical 
application  for  the  farmer,  and  in  relation  to  the 
length  of  the  winter : 

"Just  half  of  your  wood  and  half  of  your  hay 
Should  be  remaining  on  Candlemas-day." 

The  months,  too,  have  a  character  which  must  be 
remembered  and  regarded. 

January  is  the  coldest  month  of  the  year,  in  most 
localities.  The  atmospheric  machinery  reaches  its 
extreme  southern  transit,  for  the  season,  during  the 
month — usually  about  the  middle.  It  remains  station- 
ary a  while — usually  till  after  the  10th  of  February. 
One  or  more  thaws,  resulting  from  tropical  storms, 
occur  during  the  month,  in  normal  winters,  but  they 
are  of  brief  duration.  Boreas  follows  close  upon  the 
retreating  storm  with  his  icy  breath.  There  is  a 
remarkable  uniformity  in  the  progress  of  the  depres- 
sion of  temperature,  to  the  extreme  attained  in  this 
month,  over  the  entire  hemisphere.  It  differs  in  de- 
gree according  to  latitude  and  magnetic  intensity  ; 
but  it  progresses  to  that  degree,  whatever  it  may  be, 
with  as  great  uniformity  in  a  southern  as  northern 
latitude.  The  table,  copied  from  Dr.  Forrey,  dis- 
closes the  fact,  and  so  does  the  following  one,  taken" 
from  Mr.  Blodget's  valuable  paper,  published  in  the 
Patent  Office  Eeport  for  1853  : 


358 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OP 


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T.c«T-<t-^QO 

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0>     -#     t-J     t-     0>     »0     rH     TH     JO 


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ffi 


THE    WEATHER.  359 

Snows  during  this  month  are  much  heavier,  and 
more  frequent,  in  some  localities  than  others.  The 
reasons  why  this  is  so  have  been  stated.  The 
mountainous  portions  of  the  country  receive  the 
heaviest  falls.  They  affect  condensation  somewhat, 
and  according  to  their  elevation.  They  intercept  the 
flakes  before  they  melt,  and  retain  them  longer  with- 
out change.  The  thaws,  or  tropical  storms,  also 
sometimes  have  a  current  of  cold  air,  with  snow  set- 
ting under  them  on  their  northern  and  north-western 
border.  Such  was  the  case  with  that  investigated  by 
Professor  Loomis.  January  is  without  other  marked 
peculiarities.  It  shows,  of  course,  those  extremes  of 
temperature  found,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  in  all 
the  months,  and  differs,  as  the  others  differ,  in  differ- 
ent seasons.  Normally,  in  temperate  latitudes,  it 
is  a  healthy  month.  The  digestive  organs  have 
recovered  from  that  tendency  to  bilious  diseases 
which  characterizes  the  summer  extreme  northern 
transit,  and  the  tendency  to  diseases  of  the  respira- 
tory organs,  which  characterizes  the  southern  ex- 
treme and  the  commencement  of  its  return,  is  not 
often  developed  till  February.  February,  in  its  nor- 
mal condition  until  after  the  10th,  and  about  the  mid- 
dle, is  much  like  January.  Often  the  first  ten  days  of 
February  are  the  coldest  of  the  season.  The  average 
of  the  month  is  a  trifle  higher,  in  most  localities,  as 
the  tables  show.  This  results  from  the  increasing 
warmth  of  the  latter  part  of  the  month.  There  are 
localities,  however,  where  the  entire  month  is  as  cold 
as  January.  Such  (as  will  appear  from  Blodget's 


360  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OP 

table)  are  Albany  and  Kochester,  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  and  New  Orleans,  in  Louisiana.  At  most  places 
the  difference  is  slight,  either  way.  South  of  the  lati- 
tude of  40°  heavy  snows  are  more  likely  to  occur 
in  the  last  half  of  January  and  first  half  of  February 
than  earlier.  About  the  middle  of  the  month  we 
may  expect  thaws  of  more  permanence  in  normal 
seasons.  They  are  followed,  as  in  January,  by  N.  W. 
wind  and  cold  weather,  but  it  is  not  usually  as  severe. 
Many  years  since,  an  observing  old  man  said  to  me, 
"  Winter's  lack  breaks  about  the  middle  of  February" 
And  I  have  observed  that  there  is  usually  a  yielding 
of  the  extreme  weather  about  that  period.  Here, 
again,  it  is  interesting  and  instructive  to  look  at  the 
tables,  and  see  how  regularly  and  uniformly  the 
temperature  rises  in  all  latitudes,  at  the  same  time ; 
as  early  and  as  rapidly  at  Quebec  as  at  New  Orleans 
or  San  Antonio  ;  and  subsequently  rises  with  great- 
est rapidity  where  the  descent  was  greatest.  The 
elevation  of  temperature  does  not  progress  northward- 
ly, a  wave  of  heat  accompanying  the  sun,  but  is  a 
magneto- electric  change,  commencing  about  the  same 
time  over  the  the  whole  country,  and  indeed  over 
the  hemisphere. 

March  is  a  peculiar  month — the  month  of  what  is 
termed,  and  aptly  termed,  "  unsettled  weather."  It 
may  "  come  in  like  a  lion,"  or  be  variable  at  the  out- 
set. The  northern  transit  is  fairly  started,  and  is 
progressing  rapidly,  and  there  is  great  magnetic 
irritability.  A  reference  to  the  table  of  Dr.  Lament 
will  show  that  the  declination  has  increased  with 


THE    WEATHER.  361 

great  rapidity.  Normally,  the  early  part  is  like  the 
latter  part  of  February,  and  the  latter  part  approaches 
the  milder  but  still  changeable  weather  of  April. 
Its  distinguishing  feature  is  violent  westerly  wind. 
Not  the  regular  N.  "W,  only — although  that  is  prev- 
alent— but  a  peculiar  westerly  wind,  ranging  from 
"W.  by  N,  to  N.  "W.  by  ~W.,  often  blowing  with  hurri- 
cane violence.  This  wind  was  alluded  to  on  page 
130.  "With  the  change  and  active  transit  to  the 
north,  in  February  and  in  March,  comes  the  tend- 
ency to  diseases  of  the  respiratory  organs — pneu- 
monias and  lung  fevers — and  this  is  the  most 
dangerous  period  of  the  year  for  aged  people. 

April  is  a  milder  and  more  agreeable  month.  Dur- 
ing some  period  of  it,  in  normal  seasons,  and  at  other 
times  in  March,  there  is  a  warm,  quiet,  genial,  "  lamb-" 
like  spell,  exceedingly  favorable  for  oat  seeding. 
When  it  comes,  advantage  should  be  taken  of  it,  for 
long  heavy  N.  E.  storms  are  liable  to  occur,  and 
frequently  with  snow.  On  the  latitude  of  41°  heavy 
snow-storms  are  not  uncommon  in  April.  "Within 
the  last  fifteen  years  two  such  have  occurred  after 
the  10th  of  the  month.  April,  as  we  have  seen, 
should  be  cool  and  moist.  If  dry,  the  early  crops 
are  endangered  by  a  spring  drouth;  if  very  wet, 
there  is  danger  of  an  extreme  northern  transit,  and 
an  early  summer  drouth.  It  is  emphatically  true 
that 

"April  and  May  are  the  keys  of  the  year." 

Its  distinguishing  peculiar  feature  is  the  gentle, 


362  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

warm,  trade  rains — "  April  showers" — which,  in  the 
absence  of  great  magnetic  irritability,  that  current 
drops  upon  us.  There  is  great  mean  magnetic  activ- 
ity, but  it  is  not  so  irregularly  excessive  as  in  March. 

May,  in  our  climate,  should  be,  and  normally  is,  a 
wet  month,  and  a  cool  one,  considering  the  altitude 
of  the  sun.  The  atmospheric  machinery  which  the 
sun  moves  is,  however,  ordinarily  about  six  weeks 
behind  it — the  latter  reaching  the  tropic  the  20th. of 
June,  and  the  former  its  farthest  northern  extension 
about  six  weeks  later.  Hence  it  is  not  a  cause  for 
alarm  if  May  be  wet  and  cool.  The  great  staples, 
wheat,  grass,  and  oats,  are  benefited ;  and  corn,  ac- 
cording to  the  proverb,  will  not  be  seriously  retarded. 
The  movable  belt  of  excessive  magneto-electric 
action,  with  its  tropical  electric  rains,  so  exciting  to 
vegetation,  and  its  periods  or  terms  of  excessive 
heat,  is  on  its  way  north,  and  sure  to  arrive  in  sea- 
son, and  remain  long  enough  to  mature  the  corn. 
There  have  been  but  two  seasons  in  this  century 
when  corn  did  not  mature  in  the  latitude  of  41°. 
One  during  the  cold  decade,  and  the  cold  part  of  it, 
between  1815  and  1820  ;  and  the  other,  during  the 
cold  half  of  the  fourth  decade,  between  1835  and  1840. 

The  distinguishing  feature,  if  there  be  one,  of  May, 
is  its  long,  and,  for  the  season,  cool  storms.  Theso 
have,  in  different  localities,  different  names.  In  pas- 
toral sections  we  hear  of  the  "sheep  storms" — those 
which  effect  the  sheep  severely  when  newly  shorn — 
killing  them  or  reducing  them  in  flesh  by  their  cold- 
ness and  severity, 


THE    WEATHER.  363 

In  relation  to  this  too  early  shearing,  there  is  an 
old  English  proverb,  in  "  Forster's  Collection,"  viz. : 

"  Shear  your  sheep  in  May, 
And  you  will  shear  them  all  away." 

So  there  are  others  called  "  Quaker  storms"  which 
occur  about  the  time  when  that  estimable  sect  hold 
their  yearly  meeting.  And  there  are  other  names 
given  in  different  localities  to  these  long  spring 
storms.  But  they  are  all  mere  coincidences — equi- 
noctial and  all. 

Notwithstanding  the  storms,  however,  the  tem- 
perature rises  at  a  mean.  The  declination  is  often 
as  great  as  in  mid-summer.  The  earth  is  growing 
warmer  by  the  increase  of  magneto-electric  action, 
whatever  the  state  of  the  atmosphere.  The  yellow, 
sickly  blade  of  corn  is  extending  its  roots  and  pre- 
paring to  "jump"  when  the  atmosphere  becomes  hot, 
as  it  is  sure  to  do,  when  the  machinery  attains  a  suf- 
ficient altitude,  how  backward  soever  it  may  seem  to 
be.  The  farmer  need  not  mourn  over  its  backward- 
ness, unless  the  season  is  a  very  extraordinary  one, 
like  those  of  1816  and  1836.  The  storms  ensure  his 
hay,  wheat,  and  oat  crops ;  the  warming  earth  is 
at  work  with  the  roots  of  his  corn,  and  is  filling 
with  water,  and  preparing  for  the  hot  and  rapidly- 
evaporating  suns  of  mid-summer.  The  earth  would 
grow  warmer  if  every  day  was  cloudy. 

By  the  middle  of  June  the  atmospheric  machinery 
approaches  its  northern  acme,  the  summer  sets  in, 
and  not  unfrequently,  as  extremely  hot  days  occur 


364  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

during  the  latter  part  of  the  month,  as  at  any  period 
of  the  summer.  But  the  heat  is  not  so  continuous, 
or  great,  at  a  mean. 

From  the  middle  of  June  to  the  latter  part  of 
August  is  summer  in  our  climate,  and  during  that 
period  from  one  to  three  or  four  terms  of  extreme 
heat  occur,  continuing  from  one  to  five  or  six  days, 
and  possibly  more,  terminating  finally  in  a  belt  of 
showers  overlaid  with  more  or  less  cirro-stratus  con« 
densation  in  the  trade,  and  controlled  by  the  S.  E. 
polar  wave  of  magnetism,  and  followed  by  a  cool 
but  gentle  northerly  wind.  During  these  "heated 
terms,"  a  general  showery  disposition  sometimes, 
though  rarely,  appears,  with  isolated  showers,  which 
bring  no  mitigation  of  the  heat.  Not  until  a  south- 
ern extension  of  them  appears,  followed  by  a  1ST.  "W. 
air,  does  the  term  change,  so  far  as  I  have  ob- 
served. 

By  the  20th  of  August,  in  the  latitude  of  42°,  an 
evident  change  of  transit  is  observable,  by  one  who 
watches  closely,  although  the  range  of  the  thermom- 
eter in  the  day-time  may  not  disclose  it.  A  greater 
tendency  to  cirrus-formation  is  visible.  The  nights 
grow  cooler  in  proportion  to  the  days.  The  swal- 
lows are  departing,  or  have  departed ;  the  black- 
birds, too,  and  the  boblinks,  with  their  winter  jackets 
on,  their  plumage  all  changed  to  the  same  colors,  are 
flocking  for  the  same  purpose,  and  hurrying  away. 
The  pigeons  begin  to  appear  in  flocks  from  the  north, 
and  the  first  of  the  blue-winged  teal  and  black  duck 
are  seen  straggling  down  the  rivers.  At  this  season, 


THE    WEATHER.  365 

and  nearly  coincident  with  the  change,  the  peculiar 
annual  catarrhs  return.  These  are  colds  (so  called) 
which  at  some  period  of  the  person's  life  were  taken 
about  or  soon  after  the  period  of  change,  and  have 
returned  every  year,  at,  or  near  the  same  period. 
They  soon  become  habitual,  and  no  care  or  precau- 
tion will  prevent  them.  I  know  one  gentleman  who 
has  had  this  annual  cold  in  August  for  twenty-seven 
years,  with  entire  regularity ;  and  another  who  has 
had  it  nineteen  years ;  and  many  others  for  shorter 
periods.  I  never  knew  one  which  had  recurred  for 
two  or  three  years  that  could  be  afterward  pre- 
vented, or  broken  up.  Very  instructive  are  these  an- 
nual catarrhs  to  those  who  think  health  worth 
preserving,  and  in  relation  to  the  change  of  transit. 

The  change  is  felt  over  the  entire  hemisphere.  Be- 
tween the  20th  of  August  and  the  10th  of  Septem- 
ber hurricanes  originate  in  the  tropics  and  pursue 
their  curving  and  recurving  way  up  over  us ;  or  long 
"  north-easters"  commence  in  the  interior  and  pass  off 
to  E.  N.  E.  on  to  the  Atlantic,  followed  now  in  a 
more  marked  degree  by  the  peculiar  N".  "W.  wind, 
so  common  over  the  entire  Continent  in  autumn  and 
winter. 

By  the  10th  of  September  the  pigeons  may  bo 
seen  in  flocks  in  the  morning,  and  just  prior  to  the 
setting  in  of  a  brisk  N.  "W.  wind,  hurrying  away 
southward  with  a  sagacity  that  we  scarcely  appreci- 
ate, to  avoid  the  anticipated  rigors  of  winter,  and  to 
be  followed  soon  by  all  the  migratory  feathered  tribes 
that  remain. 


366  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

The  nights  grow  cooler,  although  the  sun  shines 
hot  in  the  day-time,  and  woe  to  the  person,  unless 
with  an  iron  constitution,  who  disregards  the  change, 
and  exposes  himself  or  herself  without  additional 
protection,  to  its  influence.  Nature  has  taken  care 
of  those  who  depend  upon  her,  or  upon  instinct,  for 
protection.  The  feathers  of  birds  and  water-fowl  are 
full ;  the  hair  and  the  fur  are  grown.  Beasts  and 
birds  have  been  preparing  for  the  change,  and  are 
ready  when  it  begins.  They  know  that  the  earth  is 
changing.  The  shifting  machinery  is  fast  carrying 
south  that  excess  of  negative  electricity  which  has  so 
much  to  do  with  giving  it  its  summer  heat.  They 
feel  its  absence,  even  during  the  day,  and  the  con- 
trast between  that  and  the  positively  electrified  north- 
ern atmosphere,  which  now  follows  every  retreating 
wave  of  condensation. 

The  musk-rat  builds,  of  long  grass  and  weeds,  his 
floating  nest  in  the  pond,  that  he  may  have  a  place 
to  retire  to,  when  the  rain  fills  it  up  and  drives  him 
from  his  burrow  in  its  banks. 

But  man,  with  all  his  intellect,  is  too  heedless  of 
the  change.  Additional  clothing  is  now  as  necessary 
to  him  as  to  animals,  but  it  is  burdensome  to  him  in 
the  day  time,  and  therefore  he  will  not  wear  it,  how 
much  soever  it  would  add  to  his  comfort  and  safety 
during  the  night.  He  stands  with  his  thin  summer 
soles  upon  the  changed  ground,  or  sits  in  a  current,  or 
in  the  night  air,  less  protected  than  the  animals,  and 
dysentery  or  fever  sends  him  to  his  long  home.  He 
has  intelligence,  but  he  lacks  instinct.  He  has  time  for 


THE    WEATHER.  367 

the  changes  of  dress  which  fashion  may  require,  but 
none  for  those  which  atmospherical  changes  demand. 
Fashion  has  attention  in  advance;  death  none  till  at 
the  door. 

f  Now  the  southern  line  of  the  extra-tropical  belt 
of  rains  descends  upon  those  who,  living  between 
the  areas  of  magnetic  intensity,  have  a  dry  season ; 
and  the  focus  of  precipitation  in  that  belt  descends 
every  where.  "  Winter  no  come  till  swamps  full"  the 
Indians  told  our  fathers,  and  there  is  truth  in  the  re- 
mark ;  although  like  other  general  truths  respecting 
the  weather,  it  is  not  always  so  in  our  climate. 
Hains  fall  during  the  autumnal  months,  as  during 
the  spring  months,  and  while  the  transit  of  the  ma- 
chinery is  active  and  the  evaporation  is  less.  And 
the  magnetic  comparative  rest,  and  the  seed  time  and 
equable  "  spell"  of  April  is  reproduced  in  the  Indian 
summer  of  autumn. 

The  machinery  gradually  and  irresistibly  descends, 
and  with  an  excess  of  polar  positive  electricity, 
comes  snow;  Boreas  controls,  and  winter  sets  in, 
reaching  its  maximum  of  cold  in  January  again. 

Remembering,  then,  the  differences  in  the  normal 
conditions  of  the  seasons  and  months,  and  the  differ- 
ent characters  that  the  winds,  and  storms,  and  clouds, 
and  other  phenomena  bear  in  them  respectively,  let 
us  now  look  at  the  signs  of  foul  or  fair  weather  not 
herein  before  fully  stated,  upon  which  practical  re- 
liance may  be  placed. 

In  the  first  place,  we  must  look  to  the  forming 
condensation.  There  are  many  days  when  the  atmos- 


368  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

phere  is  without  visible  clouds,  but  few  when  it  is 
entirely  without  condensation.  Such  days  are  seen 
during  the  dry  season  in  the  trade-wind  region  ;  and 
with  us,  in  mid-summer  drouths,  which  partake  of 
this  tropical  character  •  and  when,  at  any  season,  but 
particularly  in  winter,  the  K.  "W.  wind  in  large 
volume  has  elevated  the  trade  very  high.  Condensa- 
tion is  not  necessarily  in  form  of  visible  cloud.  It 
may  be  of  that  smoky  character  which  sometimes 
attends  mid-summer  drouths,  giving  the  sun  a  blood- 
red  appearance  ;  or  it  may  be  like  that  change  from 
deep  azure  to  a  "lighter  hue,"  obscuring  the  vision, 
which  Humboldt  describes  as  preceding  the  arrival 
of  the  inter-tropical  belt  of  rains.  Gay-Lussac,  and 
other  aeronauts,  have  seen  a  thin  cloud  stratum  at  the 
height  of  20,000  to  30,000  feet,  not  visible  at  the 
earth,  although  some  degree  of  mistiness  and  obscur- 
ity were  observed.  At  that  elevation  the  clouds  are 
thin,  and  always  white  and  positive.  Some  degree  of 
turbidness  is  frequent;  it  may  occur,  as  we  have 
stated,  with  N".  "W".  wind,  but,  if  it  does,  the  wind 
soon  changes  round  to  the  southward. 

This  turbidness  or  mistiness,  where  it  exists,  and 
indicates  rain,  does  not  disappear  toward  night,  as  it 
should  do  if  but  the  daily  cloudiness  which  results 
from  ordinary  diurnal  magnetic  activity,  but  becomes 
more  obvious  at  nightfall ;  and,  when  hardly  visible 
at  mid-day,  or  during  the  afternoon,  may  then  be  ob- 
served, obscuring  in  a  degree,  the  sun's  rays ;  and, 
later  in  the  evening,  forming  a  circle  round  the  moon. 
Thus  Jenner- 


THE    WEATHER.  369 

"  Last  night  the  sun  went  pak  to  bed, 
The  moon  in  hatos  hid  her  head." 

And  so,  too,  Virgil — 

"  The  sun,  too,  rising,  and  at  that  still  hour, 
When  sinks  his  tranquil  beauty  in  the  main, 
Will  give  thee  tokens ;  certain  tokens  all, 
Both  those  that  morning  brings,  and  balmy  ere. 

******** 
When  Sol  departs,  his  mighty  day -task  done, 
How  varied  hues  oft  wander  on  his  brow. 

******** 

If  the  ruddy  blaze 

Be  dimm'd  with  spots,  then  all  will  wildly  rage 
With  squalls  and  driving  showers :  on  that  fell  night 
Xone  shall  persuade  me  on  the  deep  to  urge 
My  perilous  course,  or  quit  the  sheltering  pier. 
But  if,  when  day  returns,  or  when  retires, 
Bright  is  the  orb,  then  fear  no  coming  rain : 
Clear  northern  airs  will  fan  the  quiv'ring  grove. 
Lastly,  the  sun  will  teach  th'  observant  eye 
What  vesper's  hour  shall  bring ;  what  clearing  wind 
Shall  waft  the  clouds  slow  floating — what  the  South 
Broods  in  his  humid  breast.    Who  dare  belie 
The  constant  sun  ?" 

More  frequently  this  kind  of  condensation  is  suf- 
ficiently dense  at  night-fall  to  take  shape,  and  show 
a  bank  when  the  sun  shines  horizontally  through  a 
mass  of  it.  I  am  now  speaking  of  storm  condensa- 
tion, or  that  which  indicates  the  approach  of  a  storm. 
Thunder  clouds  at  nightfall,  dark,  dense,  and  iso- 
lated, are,  of  course,  to  be  distinguished.  Those, 
every  one  understands  to  indicate  a  shower,  and  im- 
mediate succeeding  fair  weather. 

The  halos  do  not,  in  cases  of  incipient  storm  con- 
densation, always  appear.  The  moon  may  not  be 
present :  though,  in  her  absence,  I  have  seen  them  in 


370    '  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

the  light  of  the  primary  planets ;  or  she  may  be  in 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  heavens.  When  this  is  so, 
and  the  condensation  forms  slowly,  there  may  be  less 
appearance  of  it,  after  the  sun  disappears,  than  before, 
although  a  storm  is  approaching,  and  sure  to  be  on  by 
the  middle  of  next  day,  and  perhaps  with  great  vio- 
lence. "When  the  failure  of  the  light  no  longer  re- 
veals the  denser  condensation  in  the  west,  the  stars 
may  shine,  as  did  the  sun,  dimly  but  visibly,  through 
the  partial  and  invisible  condensation  ;  and  one  who 
did  not  notice  the  bank  in  the  west,  at  nightfall  and 
before  dark;  may  be  deceived  by  the  seeming  clear- 
ness of  the  evening.  Thus  Yirgil — 

"  Mark,  with  attentive  eye,  the  rapid  sun — 
The  varying  moon  that  rolls  its  monthly  round ; 
So  shalt  thou  count,  not  vainly,  on  the  mom ; 
So  the  bland  aspect  of  the  tranquil  night 
Will  ne'er  beguile  thee  with  insidious  calm." 

All  early  condensation  and  indications  derived 
from  it,  must  be  looked  for  in  the  west.  From  that 
quarter  all  storms  come.  These  indications  at  night- 
fall are  of  a  varied  character.  They  may  consist  of 
primary  condensation  in  the  trade,  or  of  secondary 
condensation,  scud  running  north  toward  a  storm,  the 
condensation  of  which  has  not  yet  visibly  reached 
us,  but  which  will  extend  south  and  pass  over  us. 
It  may  be  a  heavy  bank,  or  consist  of  narrow  cirrus 
bands.  Cirro-stratus  cloud  banks,  in  the  S.  W.,  in 
the  fall  and  winter,  of  a  foggy  and  uniform  charac- 
ter, are  indicative  of  snow.  The  body  of  the  storm 
will  pass  south  of  us,  and  a  portion  over  us,  the  wind 


THE    WEATHER.  371 

be  north  of  east,  and  the  snow  will  not  be  likely  to 
turn  to  rain  before  it  reaches  the  earth,  by  reason  of 
a  southern  middle  current. 

Banks  in  the  N.  W.  indicate  rain  at  all  seasons. 
The  storm  is  north  of  us,  working  southerly,  and 
such  storms  rain  on  the  southern  border — in  winter 
even — because  they  have  the  wind  on  that  border 
from  south  of  east.  It  may,  indeed,  snow,  but  if  so, 
probably  in  large  flakes,  soon  turning  to  rain.  There 
are  other  appearances  at  nightfall  which  deserve  con- 
sideration. A  red  sun,  with  smoky  air,  is  indicative 
of  continued  dry  weather,  a  frequent  appearance  in 
dry  terms,  lasting  three  or  four  days,  at  least,  from  the 
commencement.  So  is  a  red  appearance  of  the  sky, 
when  there  are  no  clouds,  indicative  of  a  fair  day 
following.  On  this  subject  we  have  an  allusion  to 
the  weather,  by  our  Saviour  while  on  earth,  which, 
like  all  such  allusions  found  in  the  Bible,  is  of  re- 
markable philosophical  accuracy.  It  is  found  in 
Matthew,  chapter  xvi.,  verses  2  and  3  :  "  He  answered 
and  said  unto  them,  When  it  is  evening  ye  say,  It 
will  be  fair  weather,  for  the  sky  is  red.  And  in  the 
morning,  It  will  be  foul  weather  to-day,  for  the  sky 
is  red  and  lowering.  0,  ye  hypocrites,  ye  can  discern 
the  face  of  the  sky,"  etc. 

Another  allusion  to  the  weather,  though  not  appli- 
cable to  this  point,  I  will  refer  to  in  passing.  It  is 
found  in  Luke,  chapter  xii.,  verses  54  and  55 :  "  And 
he  said  also  to  the  people,  When  ye  see  a  cloud  rise 
out  of  the  west  straightway  ye  say,  There  cometh  a 
shower ;  and  so  it  is.  And  when  ye  see  the  south 


872  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

wind  blow,  ye  say,  There  will  be  heat ;  and  it  cometh 
to  pass." 

This  is  all  very  true,  and  might  have  been  cited  to 
show  the  universality  of  the  phenomena.  But  to  re- 
turn. 

We  have  an  old  English  proverb  alluding  to  the 
same  phenomena,  of  great  value  and  truth,  viz. : 


"An  evening  red  and  a  morning  gray 
Are  sure  signs  of  a  fair  day ; 
Be  the  evening  gray  and  the  morning  red, 
Put  on  your  hat  or  you  11  wet  your  head." 


The  sky  is  red  if  there  be  no  condensation  at  the 
•west  to  obscure  the  rays  of  the  sun ;  if  there  be,  it  is 
gray,  or  there  is  a  bank  or  cloud,  and  it  is  obscured. 
So  if  there  be  no  condensation  over,  or  to  the  east  of 
us,  in  the  morning,  to  reflect  the  rays  of  the  sun,  the 
sky  is  gray  ;  if  there  be  such  condensation,  the  sun 
is  reflected  from  it,  and  the  sky  is  red.  Such  morn- 
ing condensation  is  indicative  of  foul  weather.  It  is, 
as  we  have  said,  the  eastern  edge  of  an  approaching 
storm,  on,  or  under  which,  the  sun  shines  and  illum- 
ines it.  Thus,  at  night,  it  shines  through  a  portion 
at  the  west,  which  is  situate  between  the  sun  and  us, 
making  the  sky  gray :  but  shines  on,  or  under,  a 
portion  in  the  morning,  east  of  us,  but  not  far  enough 
east  to  obscure  the  horizon,  and  the  rays  of  the  rising 
sun  are  reflected  from  it.  In  either  case  the  red  or 
gray  appearance  results  from  the  relative  situation  of 
the  sun  and  the  eastern  edge  of  an  approaching 
storm. 


THE    WEATHER.  373 

The  following  couplet  of  Darwin  is  an  apt  descrip- 
tion of  the  morning  appearance : 

"  In  fiery  red  the  sun  doth  rise, 
Then  wades  through  clouds  to  mount  the  skies." 

The  sun  is  often  reflected  in  vivid  colors,  from  the 
under  surface  of  clouds,  at  sunset.  This  is  an  indi- 
cation of  fair  weather.  It  is  evident  the  sun  shines 
through  a  clear  atmosphere  beyond  the  cloud,  or  his  rays 
would  not  reach  and  illume  the  lower  surface  of  the 
cirro-stratus  with  such  distinctness.  He  " sets  dear" 
as  is  said ;  the  clouds  are  passing  off,  and  there  are 
none  beyond.  It  is  this  appearance,  in  different 
forms,  when  there  happen  to  be  patches  of  broken, 
melting  cirro-stratus  above  the  horizon,  which  makes 
the  beautiful  sunsets  that  attract  attention.  So  the 
sun  is  reflected,  in  beautiful  colors  sometimes,  from 
the  cumulus  clouds  which  have  passed  over  to  the 
east.  The  most  beautiful  and  variegated  I  have  ever 
seen,  were  reflected  from  that  imperfect  cumulus  con- 
densation which  takes  place  occasionally  during  long 
drouths — doubtless  resembling  that  which  is  seen 
over  Peru,  hereinbefore  alluded  to,  as  described  by 
Stewart. 

It  is  not,  then,  the  presence  of  cloud  condensation 
at  the  west,  at  nightfall,  which  alone  indicates  foul 
weather ;  but  such  condensation,  whatever  its  form, 
as  evinces  that  it  is  not  the  dissolving  cloud  of  the  day, 
but  the  eastern,  approaching  portion  of  a  still  denser 
portion  beyond,  through,  or  under  which,  the  sun  can  not 
shine  dearly,  but  which  wholly  or  partially  obscures  it. 


374:  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

Remembering  this  philosophy  of  the  matter,  the  observer 
will  soon  be  able  to  detect  the  various  forms  of  con- 
densation which  originate  or  exhibit  themselves  at 
nightfall,  and  whether  they  indicate  an  approaching 
storm  or  not,  without  a  more  explicit  specification  of 
them.  It  is  an  important  hour  for  observation  ;  "Let 
not  the  sun  go  down"  without  attention. 

When  the  condensation  is  obvious,  but  thin,  at 
nightfall,  it  may  not,  as  I  have  said,  be  discernible  in 
the  evening.  But  there  are  methods  by  which  the 
incipient  storm  condensation  may  be  detected.  The 
number  of  the  stars  visible,  and  the  distinctness  with 
which  they  may  be  seen,  indicate  the  absence  or  pres- 
ence of  condensation  and  its  density.  Virgil,  alluding 
to  the  indications  of  fair  weather,  says : 

"  Brightly  the  stars  shine  forth ;  Cjnthia  no  more 
Glimmers  obnoxious  to  her  brother's  rays ; 
Nor  fleecy  clouds  float  lightly  through  the  sky." 

The  brightness  of  the  stars  and  the  clear  appear- 
ance of  the  moon  show  the  absence  of  condensation 
and  the  dissolution  of  the  fleecy  clouds  at  the  close  of 
the  day  is,  as  we  have  seen,  always  a  fair-weather 
indication. 

There  is  much  true  philosophy  in  the  allusions  of 
Virgil  to  the  moon.  Thus — 

"When  Luna  first  her  scatter'd  fires  recalls, 
If  with  Hunt  horns  she  holds  the  dusky  air, 
Seamen  and  swains  predict  th'  abundant  shower." 

The  horns,  or  angles  of  the  moon  will,  of  course, 
appear  distinct  and  sharp  or  indistinct  and  blunt,  in 


THE    WEATHER.  375 

proportion  to  the  amount  of  condensation  in  the  at- 
mosphere which  impedes  the  passage  of  the  light. 
For  the  same  reason,  when  the  moon  is  new,  her  en- 
tire disk  is  visible  when  the  atmosphere  is  very  clear, 
by  reason,  as  is  supposed,  of  light  reflected  from  the 
earth  to  the  moon  and  back  to  us.  This  double  re- 
flection can  only  take  place  when  the  atmosphere  is 
very  clear.  Hence,  Virgil  alludes  to  it,  and  cor- 
rectly, as  an  indication  of  continued  fair  weather : 

"  If  (mark  the  ominous  hour  1) 
The  clear  fourth  night  her  lucid  disk  define, 
That  day,  and  all  that  thence  successive  spring, 
E'en  to  the  finished  month,  are  calm  and  dry." 

Probably  Virgil  alluded  to  a  month  of  the  summer 
trade-wind  drouth  which  reaches  up  on  Southern 
Italy.  But  that  appearance  of  the  moon  is  occasion- 
ally seen  here,  and  the  indication  is,  in  degree,  philo- 
sophically true. 

It  is  somewhat  more  difficult  to  determine  what 
will  be  the  result  of  the  condensation  seen  at  the 
west  in  the  morning,  and  which  is  not  so  far  east,  or 
of  such  a  character,  as  to  reflect  the  rays  of  the  sun ; 
for,  although  always  suspicious,  it  is  sometimes  of  a 
foggy  character,  and  disappears  between  eight  and 
nine  o'clock.  If  it  increases  in  density  after  ten 
o'clock,  or  is  of  a  dense  cirro-stratus  character,  rain 
may  generally  be  expected.  If  of  a  decided  cirro- 
cumulus  character,  it  is  certain  to  disappear.  Cirro- 
cumulus  is  seen  in  small  patches,  with  small,  distinct, 
and  rounded  masses,  in  summer,  in  the  morning,  and 


376  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

sometime,  during  the  day,  after  high  fog  has  dis- 
appeared, and  at  other  times,  and  is  always,  when 
of  that  distinct  character,  a  fair  weather  indication. 
I  have  seen  it  thus  when  the  wind  was  blowing  from 
the  N.  E.,  and  the  scud  running  toward  a  storm  pass- 
ing near,  but  to  the  south  of  us,  when  those  who  re- 
lied upon  the  existence  of  the  wind  and  scud  as 
evidences  that  we  were  to  have  the  desired  rain, 
were  deceived.  Thus,  the  couplet  from  an  old  al- 
manac : 

"  If  woolly  fleeces  strew  the  heavenly  way, 
Be  sure  no  rain  disturb  the  summer  day." 

"When  this  morning  condensation  is  not  high  fog, 
and  is  dense  and  passing  east  with  a  wavy  appear- 
ance, it  is  very  certain  to  rain.  Jenner  says : 

11  The  boding  shepherd  heaves  a  sigh, 
For  see,  a  rainbow  spans  the  sky." 

An  old  almanac  had  the  following  verse : 

41 A  rainbow  in  the  morning 
Is  the  shepherd's  warning ; 
A  rainbow  at  night 
Is  the  shepherd's  delight." 

So  the  proverb  was  originally  made ;  but  as  our 
ancestors  were  not  shepherds,  and  had  a  horror  of 
ocean  storms,  it  was  commonly  quoted,  in  this  coun- 
try, in  the  following  form : 

"  A  rainbow  in  the  morning, 
The  sailors  take  warning,"  etc. 


THE    WEATHEK.  377 

Rainbows  are  not  reflected  from  clouds,  but  falling 
rain,  and  a  morning  rainbow  at  the  west  is,  of  course, 
evidence  that  it  is  actually  raining  there,  and  will,  in 
all  probability,  pass  over  us.  li  Thunder  in  the 
morning,  rain  before  night,"  is  a  common  saying, 
and  a  true  one.  There  is  a  belt  of  showers,  or 
showery  period  approaching,  of  unusual  intensity — 
for  thunder  showers  in  the  morning  are  rare.  The 
afternoon  is  their  most  common  period,  and  they  are 
very  apt  to  appear  then,  when  the  morning  is  showery. 

Of  the  different  forms  of  cirrus  and  cirro-stratus, 
which  appear  during  the  day,  and  indicate  approach- 
ing storms,  or  of  cumulus  indicative  of  showers,  it  is 
difficult  to  give  an  intelligible  description  without 
very  many  illustrations.  I  have  many  daguerreo- 
type views,  taken  at  different  seasons  of  the  year, 
and  at  a  time  when  different  forms  of  cirrus  and 
cirro-stratus  condensation,  indicative  of  storms,  ex- 
hibited themselves.  They  differ,  as  I  have  said,  and 
it  must  be  remembered,  very  much  at  different  sea- 
sons of  the  year,  and  in  different  years,  and  their  deli- 
cate shades  are  taken  with  difficulty  by  the  artist, 
and  reproduced  with  difficulty,  and  only  at  consider- 
able expense,  by  the  engraver ;  and  I  have  omitted 
them.  The  time  will  come  when  a  knowledge  of 
their  language  will  be  sought  for  and  read — when  the 
"  countenance  of  the  sky"  will  be  an  object  of  intelli- 
gent interest  to  all  whose  business  may  be  affected  by 
the  weather,  or  who  love  to  learn  of  nature.  But  it 
is  not  yet.  This  is  the  age  of  theory  and  speculation. 
The  time  of  actual,  practical,  connected  observation 


878  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

and  prognostication,  which  may  justify  expensive 
illustration,  is  yet  to  arrive. 

The  reader  will  find  in  the  general  plates  represent- 
ations of  several  kinds  of  cirri.  They  are  delicate, 
always  white,  more  or  less  fibrous,  and  form  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  trade  or  the  adjoining  atmosphere 
above  it.  Their  character  and  elevation  should  be 
studied,  and  the  observer  should  be  careful  to  dis- 
tinguish which  is  the  most  elevated.  Not  unfre- 
quently  it  may  seem,  to  a  hasty  observer,  that  the 
cirrus  is  below  the  cirro-stratus  or  forming  stratus. 
But  the  genuine  cirrus  never  is.  It  forms  near,  and 
above,  the  point  of  congelation,  and  is  often  com- 
posed of  crystals  of  ice  or  snow.  If  they  fall,  they 
melt  and  evaporate,  when  there  is  no  storm,  before 
reaching  the  earth.  Aeronauts  have  met  with  them 
and  their  crystals  when  there  was  no  fall  of  moisture 
at  the  surface  of  the  earth ;  and  the  angles  of  reflec- 
tion exhibited  by  halos  and  other  optical  phenomena 
which  form  in  them,  enable  us  to  detect  their  crys- 
tallization and  the  form  of  it. 

They  are  produced  by  electric  changes  which  con- 
dense the  vapor,  and  the  coldness  of  the  air  at  that 
elevation  freezes  it  at  the  instant  of  its  condensation. 

Congelation  is  crystallization,  and  all  crystalliza- 
tion is  electric,  or  magneto-electric.  The  snow-flakes 
differ  in  form  and  size  according  to  the  suddenness 
of  the  condensation,  the  amount  of  moisture  con- 
densed, the  polarity  of  the  strata  through  which  they 
pass,  and  their  consequent  attraction  and  adhesion  to 
each  other. 


THE    WEATHER.  379 

The  connection  of  electricity  with  these  formations 
of  cirri  has  frequently  been  admitted,  and  it  is  per- 
fectly obvious  that  the  long  fibrous  bands,  shooting 
from  horizon  to  horizon,  could  not  be  formed  by 
commingling  of  currents  any  more  than  the  perfectly 
isolated,  distinct,  enlarging-outward  cumulus  hail- 
storm, could  be  so  formed.  Cirri  form  at  the  line  of 
meeting,  between  the  trade  and  the  upper  atmos- 
phere, and  in  one  or  the  other,  or  both,  very  much 
according  to  the  season,  and  the  suddenness  with 
which  storms  are  produced.  These  often  induce  a 
layer  of  cirro-stratus  or  stratus  at  the  lower  line  of 
the  counter-trade,  and  in  the  surface-atmosphere, 
which  precipitates  ;  and  this  operation  is  clearly  dis- 
cernible, and  very  frequently,  before  gentle  rains. 
Condensation  in  the  whole  body  of  the  trade  is  usu- 
ally in  the  form  of  turbidness  or  mistiness,  a  bank 
or  incipient  stratus,  without  cirri. 

It  seems  matter  of  astonishment  that  water  should 
float  so  far  condensed,  in  strata  where  the  air  is  so 
much  lighter,  without  being  precipitated.  But  elec- 
tric attraction  and  repulsion  between  the  different 
strata  and  the  vesicles,  explain  it. 

In  mid- winter,  the  emus  forms  are  prevalent  and 
most  distinct.  After  severe  cold  weather,  when  a 
storm  approaches,  the  cirri  form  in  long,  narrow 
threads,  parallel  to  each  other,  extending  from  about 
W.  S.  W.  to  E.  K  E.,  gradually  thickening  and 
forming,  or-  inducing,  cirro-stratus  and  stratus,  and 
dropping  snow.  This  form  is  called  the  linear- 
cirrus.  The  tufted,  and  other  fibrous  forms,  are  seen 


380  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

in  patches  also,  in  great  distinctness,  during  these 
mid-winter  days,  when  the  wind  gets  around  to  the 
southward,  and  the  weather  is  pleasant.  Such  days 
are  called  "weather-breeders"  and  their  offspring  the 
patches  of  cirrus,  which  are  to  extend  and  compose, 
or  induce  the  storm,  and  indeed  are  an  advance  part 
of  it,  are  then  never  absent.  A  clear,  moderate  day, 
in  a  normal  winter,  with  wind  from  any  southern 
point,  however  light,  between  the  1st  of  January  and 
the  middle  of  February,  without  these  patches  of 
cirrus,  is  very  uncommon.  "Watch  and  see  whether 
they  tend  to  cirro-stratus,  or  whether  the  wind  gets 
around  to  the  N.  W.  at  nightfall,  and  they  disappear. 
If  the  former,  a  storm  may  be  expected  ;  if  the  latter, 
fair  weather 

Thus  there  are  three  peculiarities  attending  the 
forming  cirrus  of  mid-winter  (1st  of  January  to  10th 
of  February):  long,  fibrous,  parallel  bands  in  the 
morning  (linear  cirrus),  gradually  coalescing  as  the 
day  advances,  after  severe  cold ;  the  comoid,  curled, 
or  tufted  cirrus,  in  curling  bunches,  called  "  mares' - 
tails  ;"  and  the  transverse,  when  the  fibers  are  in  bands 
or  threads,  which  are  not  parallel,  but  cross  each 
other  at  angles,  more  or  less  acute.  The  two  former 
varieties  are  represented  on  Figure  5,  page  26,  indi- 
cated by  one  bird,  but  the  last  form  is  a  very  preva- 
lent one  in  our  atmosphere. 

Various  names  have  been  given  to  different  forms 
of  cirro-stratus.  Those  represented  in  Figure  5,  page 
26,  are  the  "  cymM"  on  the  right,  the  "  mottled"  on 
the  left,  below  the  cirro-cumulus ;  and  tho  "  linear" 


THE    YTEATHER.  381 

below  that.  The  form  known  as  the  "  mackerel  sky" 
is  not  represented  there.  It  consists  of  regular  forms, 
resembling  the  waves  on  the  surface  of  the  water 
when  the  wind  blows  a  gentle  breeze.  But  the  wavy 
form,  and  of  all  sizes,  is  very  frequently  assumed  by 
cirro-stratus,  which  is  rapidly  condensing,  and  turn- 
ing to  stratus.  In  the  "  mackerel  sky,"  strictly  so 
called,  the  waves  are  small,  parallel,  nearly  distinct 
and  equi-distant,  and  resembling  the  appearance  of  a 
school  of  mackerel,  swimming  in  the  same  direction, 
one  above  another.  All  wavy  forms  of  cirro-stratus 
indicate  a  disposition  to  increased  condensation  and 
rain.  When  the  waves  are  very  large  and  dense, 
and  cross  obliquely,  or  unite  at  one  end,  rain  is  very 
certain  to  fall  soon,  if  the  line  of  progress  of  the  con- 
densation is  over  the  observer,  and  the  clouds  are 
seen  in  the  western  or  N.  W.  quarter  of  the  sky. 

But  there  are  few  forms  which  are  not  occasionally 
seen  when  no  rain  or  snow  falls.  The  intensity  of 
the  electric  action  which  produces  them  may  not  be 
sufficient  to  effect  precipitation,  or  they  may  be  the 
attendant,  attenuated  lateral  condensation,  which  fre- 
quently "  thins  out"  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
dense,  precipitating  portions  of  the  storm. 

If  that  denser  portion  is  north  of  us,  the  probabil- 
ities of  rain  are  greater,  for  there  is  always  a  proba- 
bility that  the  storm  may  be  of  the  character  which 
is  extended  south,  by  a  polar  wave.  The  observer 
must  watch  the  formation  of  cirri,  and  the  different 
forms  of  cirro-stratus  and  stratus,  and  become  familiar 
with  their  appearance.  It  is  not  a  difficult  task. 


882  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

"With  the  aid  of  a  few  general  directions  he  will  soon 
be  familiar  with  them  : 

1.  Get  a  correct  idea  of  the  different  characters  of 
the  primary  clouds.      The  true  fibrous  cirrus — the 
different  forms  of  cirro-stratus — the  smooth,  uniform 
stratus — the   cirro  cumulus,  which  is  nothing  but  a 
cirro-stratus,  separated  into  distinct  masses  by  the  re- 
pulsion of  static  electricity — and  the  cumulus,  too 
distinct  ever  to  be  mistaken.     There  is  no  difficulty, 
except  with  the  varied  forms  of  cirro-stratus.     It  is 
useless  to  attempt  to  give,  or  the  observer  to  rely 
on,    names  for  these  numerous   forms,  without  as 
numerous  illustrations.     Those  in  use  are  rarely  ap- 
plied correctly.     I  have  never  met  with  ten  persons 
who  applied  'even  the  term  "  mackerel  sky"  to  the 
same  precise  form  of  cirro-stratus.     In  relation  to  all 
of  them  it  is  to  be  observed  that  polar  belts  of  con- 
densation, and  local  appearances  of  considerable  ex- 
tent, are-  often  too  feeble  in  action  to  precipitate, 
even  when  the  mackerel  form  is  present;  and  all 
may  be  the  lateral  attendants   of  passing  storms. 
Therefore, 

2.  Satisfy  yourself  whether  the  cirrus  or  cirro- 
stratus  increases  in  density  and  tends  to  the  forma- 
tion,   or   induction,  of  stratus ;    and  whether  it  is 
isolated,  or  an  extension  of  the  condensation  of  a 
storm,   and  if  the  latter,  where  that  storm  is.     The 
time  will  come  when  an  intelligent  use  of  the  tele- 
graph will  do  this  for  you. 

3.  Look  also  to  the  character  of  the  wind,  if  there 
be  any.      On  this  subject  I  have  perhaps  said  all 


THE    WEATHEK.  383 

that  is  necessary  in  the  preceding  pages.  Next  to 
condensation,  the  direction  and  character  of  the  wind 
is  the  most  valuable  prognostic.  Indeed  it  often 
tells  us  that  a  storm  is  approaching,  and  the  quarter 
from  which  it  will  come,  and  its  character,  before  the 
condensation  is  visible. 

4.  See  if  there  is  any  secondary  condensation  or 
scud.  These  are  sometimes  seen  running  toward  a 
storm,  when  there  are  not  distinct  clouds  visible  in 
the  western  horizon,  at  nightfall,  or  in  the  evening, 
as  in  the  instance  stated  in  the  introduction,  and 
sometimes  from  the  north-east,  as  in  cases  heretofore 
so  often  stated.  But  the  easterly  scud  do  not  often 
form  in  winter,  until  after  the  cirrus  has  passed  into 
the  form  of  cirro-stratus,  or  has  induced  the  latter 
forms  in  the  inferior  portion  of  the  trade,  or  the  sur- 
face atmosphere. 

The  inductive  effect  of  the  primary  condensation, 
therefore,  is  not  always,  and  especially  in  winter,  suf- 
ficient to  create  the  easterly  current  and  scud,  and  it 
is  often  the  case  that  the  easterly  wind  is  not  felt,  or 
the  scud  seen,  in  snow-storms,  until  the  snow  has  be- 
gun to  fall,  and  the  first  snow  will  fall  with  a  S.  "\V. 
air,  as  I  have  heretofore  stated.  But  when  the  con- 
densation has  so  far  advanced  toward  stratus  that 
the  easterly  wind  and  scud  are  obvious,  there  is  little 
or  no  doubt  that  rain  or  snow  will  fall  speedily.  The 
occasional  occurrence  of  easterly  wind  and  scud, 
without  rain,  however — dry  north-easters,  as  I  have 
termed  them — in  connection  with  storms  passing 
south  of  us,  or  condensation  too  feeble  to  precipi- 


384  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

tate,  should  be  remembered.  The  long,  dry,  north- 
easterly winds  of  spring  have  been  attributed  to  the 
icebergs,  tyit  they  are  overlaid  by  feeble  stratus  or 
cirro-stratus  condensation,  or  are  the  result  of  attrac- 
tion, by  a  more  southern  precipitation.  The  observer 
must  be  careful  to  distinguish  between  the  various 
forms  of  N.  "W.  scud  and  cirro-stratus,  which  they 
sometimes  resemble.  This  he  may  do  from  the  direc- 
tion in  which  they  move.  Cirro-stratus  always  moves 
from  some  point  between  S.  S.  W.  and  W.  S.  W.  to 
some  point  between  K  K  E.  and  E.  K  E.  The  various 
forms  of  K  W.  scud  move  to  the  S.  E.  The  March, 
foggy  scud,  from  between  W.  and  JNT.  W.,  rarely  have 
any  cirro-stratus  above  them,  but  rather  a  peculiar 
turbid  condensation. 

The  character  of  the  primary  condensation,  the 
direction  and  force  of  the  wind,  and  the  direction  of 
the  secondary  condensation  or  scud,  must  be  the 
main  reliance  of  the  observer.  But  I  must  reiterate 
that  they  all  differ  in  different  kinds  of  storms,  in 
different  seasons  of  the  same  year,  and  the  same  sea- 
sons of  different  years ;  and  the  observer  must  be 
careful  to  make  due  allowance  for  those  differences. 

There  are,  however,  divers  other  secondary  signs, 
which,  although  not  alone  to  be  relied  upon,  will  aid 
the  observer,  if  carefully  studied,  when  the  character 
of  the  clouds,  and  the  pressure  of  easterly  or  south- 
erly wind  and  scud,  are  not  decisive.  Of  these,  a 
large  class  are  electrical. 

The  smoke  descends  the  adjoining  chimney -flues, 
or  outside  of  the  chimney,  toward  the  ground. 


THE    WEATHER.  835 

Thus,  Darwin,  as  quoted  by  Hone : 

"  The  smoke  from  chimneys  right  ascends, 
Then,  spreading^  back  to  earth  it  bends." 

Smoke  is  electrified  positively,  by  the  act  of  com- 
bustion ;  the  earth  and  the  adjacent  atmosphere, 
when  storms  are  gathering  or  approaching,  is  nega- 
tive. Hence  the  smoke  spreads,  and  is  attracted 
downward  by  an  opposite  electricity.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  interesting  to  see,  at  other  times,  and 
when  the  difference  in  temperature  is  not  material, 
but  the  whole  atmosphere  is  positive,  with  what 
rapidity  and  compactness  the  smoke  will  ascend  in  a 
straight  and  elevated  column  from  the  chimney,  repelled 
by  a  similar  electricity.  I  am  aware  it  is  generally 
supposed  the  smoke  descends  because  the  air  is  lighter. 
But  it  is  a  mistake.  I  have  seen  it  descend  when 
the  barometer  was  at  30°. 60,  or  .60  above  the  mean. 

There  is,  too,  a  draught  downward  in  chimneys, 
in  such  cases  when  there  is  no  smoke  or  fire  in 
any  of  its  flues.  Thus  Jenner  says :  "  The  soot  falls 
down ;"  whether  he  meant  by  this  that  there  was  an 
actual  fall  of  soot  other  than  what  is  occasioned  by 
the  rain  falling  in  through  the  chimney  top,  and  dis- 
turbing the  soot,  as  sometimes  happens,  I  do  not 
know.  It  occurs  rarely,  and  is  of  very  little  prac- 
tical importance.  But  every  housewife  knows  that 
chimneys,  which  have  been  used  in  winter,  and  are 
full  of  soot,  smell  before  storms.  The  odor  results 
from  a  downward  draught  and  the  dampness  of 
the  air.  So  the  smoke  from  one  flue  will  descend 

•17 


886  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

another,  into  some  unused  room,  on  such  occasions. 
Another  class  of  these  electrical  signs  are  felt  by 
those  who  are  suffering  from  chronic  diseases,  -which 
have  affected  the  nerves  and  made  them  sensitive* 
Thus  Jenner : 

"  Old  Betty's  joints  are  on  the  rack." 

And  Hone  adds : 

tl  Her  corns  with  shooting  pains  torment  her, 
And  to  her  bed  untimely  send  her." 

But  Old  Betty's  rheumatism  or  corns  are  not  alone 
in  this.  Those  whose  bones  have  been  broken  feel 
it.  All  invalids  feel  it.  And,  indeed,  all  observing 
healthy  persons  may,  and  do,  although  all  are  not 
distinctly  conscious  of  it.  It  is  common  for  such  to 
say,  I  feel  sleepy,  or  I  feel  dull,  or,  It  feels  like  snow, 
or  feels  like  rain,  and  thus  from  their  own  feelings  to 
be  able  to  predict,  not  only  falling  weather,  but  its 
character,  whether  snow  or  rain,  at  a  time  when  either 
may  occur  consistently  with  appearances. 

This  change  is  a  change  from  the  positive  electric- 
ity which  is  so  congenial  to  the  active — "  bracing"  is 
the  usual  term — to  negative  and  damp — for  this 
change  is  accompanied  by  condensation,  as  I  believe 
all  changes  from  positive  to  negative  are.  Certain  it 
is,  if  the  atmosphere  is  highly  charged  with  negative 
electricity,  condensation  takes  place  ;  if  with  positive, 
evaporation.  Perhaps  it  is  a  change  of  the  associated 
electricity  which  accompanies  magnetism,  and  not  of 
the  free  atmospheric  electricity  alone.  Hence  an« 
other  phenomenon  alluded  to  by  Jenner : 


THE    WEATHER.  887 

11  The  walls  are  damp,  the  ditches  smelL" 

There  are  localities  where  this  dampness  is  very 
obvious.  The  celebrated  William  Cobbett,  many 
years  since,  when  a  farmer  on  Long  Island,  observed 
and  published  the  fact  that  the  stones  grew  damp 
before  a  storm.  I  know  of  flagging  stones  that 
usually  grow  damp  two  or  three  hours  before  rain, 
especially  in  spring  and  fall,  and  every  step  taken 
upon  them  is  made  visible  by  a  corresponding  in- 
crease of  condensation. 

The  reverse  of  this  takes  place  just  before  thedose 
of  storms.  Flagging  stones,  and  walls  under  cover, 
will  frequently  become  dry  before  the  rain  ceases. 
The  negative  electricity  becomes  less  as  the  positive 
prevails,  although  the  clouds  above  are  still  dropping 
rain. 

In  the  comparatively  moist,  showery  climate  of 
England,  these  changes  from  positive  to  negative 
alternate  rapidly  between  successive  showers ;  but 
observations  of  electric  phenomena,  or  of  clouds,  in 
that  climate,  are  not,  without  qualification,  safe  guides 
for  us. 

So  "  the  ditches  smell,"  particularly  in  the  evening 
before  a  rain,  when  the  immediate  surface-atmosphere 
is  charged  with  negative  electricity,  and  the  condens- 
ing moisture  prevents  the  diffusion  of  the  odors.  For 
the  same  reason  the  candle  will  not  relight,  and  there 
is  crackling  in  the  ashes  or  lamp.  Thus,  again,  Virgil : 

"  Maidens  that  nightly  toil  the  tangled  fleece 
Divine  the  coming  tempest ;  in  the  lamp 
Crackles  the  oil,  the  gathering  wick  grows  dim.** 


888  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

Virgil  did  not  live  in  our  cold  climate,  and  knew 
nothing  of  the  crackling  in  the  fire,  or  in  the  ashes 
or  coals  which,  remain  after  the  wood  is  consumed. 
The  lamp  exhibits  it  on  a  smaller  scale,  and  perhaps 
he  had  noticed  it  when  in  company  with  the  maidens. 
But  it  is  sometimes  noticeable  even  in  the  lamp  or 
candle  with  us.  A  small  particle  of  moisture  will 
produce  it,  in  a  marked  degree,  at  any  time. 

In  winter,  when  the  air  is  highly  positive  and  cold, 
the  candle  can  be  blown  out,  and  by  another  puff  of 
the  breath  relighted,  with  ease.  But  when  the  elec- 
tricity before  a  storm  becomes  negative,  and  partial 
condensation  takes  place,  this  can  not  be  done.  This 
partial  condensation  before  storms  and  showers 
shows  itself  upon  vessels  containing  cold  water,  in 
summer.  It  seems  to  be  the  received  opinion,  that 
the  condensation  is  evidence  of  a  greater  quantity  of 
moisture  in  the  atmosphere.  But  this,  too,  is  a  mis- 
take, and  hence  the  little  reliance  to  be  placed  on 
hygrometers. 

This  partial  condensation  is  sometimes  visible. 
"When  the  sun  shines  clearly,  at  the  east  or  west, 
through  a  small  opening  in  the  clouds,  the  condensing 
vapor  is  shown  by  the  streaks  of  sunlight,  just  as  the 
fine  particles  of  dust  are  seen  in  a  dark  room,  when 
a  few  rays  of  sunlight  are  admitted  through  a  small 
aperture.  This  phenomenon  is  often  observed,  and  it 
is  said  of  it — "  It's  a  going  to  rain  ;  the  sun  is  drawing 
water" 

Virgil  alludes  to  this  as  seen  in  the  east  in  the 
morning,  thus: 


THE    WEATHER.  889 

"  But  when  beneath  the  dawn  red-fingered  rays 
Through  the  dense  band  of  clouds  diverging  break, 

*  *  «  o  * 

HI  does  the  leaf  defend  the  mellowing  grape ; 
Leaps  on  the  noisy  roof  the  plenteous  hail, 
Fearfully  crackling. 

It  is  well  ascertained  that  storm-clouds  of  great  in- 
tensity have  polarity  in  the  different  portions,  and 
that  in  the  less  intense  magneto-electrical  climate  of 
England  isolated  showers  are  often  of  this  character — 
the  polarity  existing  in  rings.  Showers  are  doubtless 
thus  found  with  us.  Mr.  Wise  got  into  one  of  them; 
see  his  description  (Theory  and  Practice  of  Aero- 
nautics page  240). 

I  have,  in  another  place,  alluded  to  the  upward 
attraction  of  the  dust  beneath  the  advance  condensa- 
tion of  a  shower,  Jenner  alludes  to  it  in  the  follow- 
ing lines : 

"  The  whirling  winds  the  dust  obeys, 
And  hi  the  rapid  eddy  plays." 

So  Virgil: 

"  Light  chaff  and  leaflets,  flitting,  JW,  the.  air, 
And  sportive  feathers  circle  on  the  lake." 

All  these  are  electrical. 

In  England,  where  the  action  of  such  isolated 
clouds  is  less  intense,  the  different  electricities  in 
different  portions  of  the  cloud,  whose  opposite  and 
changing  action  produce  all  the  phenomena,  the  con- 
densation, the  cold  and  congelation,  the  currents,  etc., 
have  been  accurately  ascertained.  We  can  not  get 
into  the  situation  occupied  by  Mr.  Wise.  •  But  every 


890  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OP 

man  may  observe  these  intestine  motions  occasionally, 
in  the  advance  condensation  of  an  isolated  thunder- 
shower,  in  front  of,  but  near  the  smooth  line  of  fall- 
ing rain.  They  are  more  lateral  than  upward  or 
downward,  and  are  often  exceedingly  rapid  in  move- 
ment. 

I  have  said  that  hail  has  often  been  found  to  fall 
from  particular  and  well-defined  portions  of  a  cloud, 
and  rain  from  the  other  portions,  the  hail  being  posi- 
tive, and  rain  negative.  An  instance  of  very  strik- 
ing character  may  be  found  in  Espy's  Philosophy  of 
Storms  (Introduction,  page  xx.)  Doubtless  in  all 
cases  thunder-showers,  which  are  isolated  and  dis- 
tinct, have  opposite  electricity  in  different  portions, 
to  whose  active  agency  all  the  phenomena  are  owing. 
And  the  return  of  electricity  to  the  earth  in  the  rain 
explains  the  greater  fertilizing  effect  of  the  latter 
compared  with  all  artificial  watering.  He  was  a  true 
philosopher  who  attempted  to  stimulate  vegetation 
by  electricity. 

Sounds  may  sometimes  aid  the  observer  in  doubt- 
ful  cases  in  foretelling  the  weather.  The  roar  of  the 
surf,  or  breaking  of  the  waves  on  the  shore,  when 
great  bodies  of  water  are  disturbed  by  a  precedent 
storm- wind,  often  heard  before  the  wind  is  perceiv- 
ed on  the  land,  I  have  already  alluded  to.  And 
thus  Yirgil : 

"  When  storms  are  brooding— in  the  leeward  gulf 
Dash  the  swelled  waves ;  the  mighty  mountains  pour 
A  harsh,  dull  murmur ;  far  along  the  beach 
Rolls  the  deep  rushing  roar." 


THE    WEATHER.  891 

The  moaning  or  -whistling  of  the  wind  all  have 
noticed.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  the  expression, 
"  The  wind  sounds  like  rain."  Jenner  says : 

"  The  hollow  winds  begin  to  blow." 

And  Virgil : 

"  The  whispering  grove 
Betrays  the  gathering  elemental  strife." 

This  whispering  is  the  motion  of  the  leaves ;  and 
they  are  often  stirred  by  a  peculiar  motion  which  is 
not  that  of  wind.  Sometimes  every  leaf  upon  a  tree 
may  be  seen  vibrating  with  an  upward  and  downward 
motion,  when  there  is  not  wind  enough  to  stir  a 
twig.  This  interesting  phenomenon  is  electrical. 
Trees,  and  all  vegetables,  confessedly  discharge  elec- 
tricity, and  such  discharges  move  the  leaves,  when 
very  active. 

"With  us,  sounds  can  be  heard  more  distinctly 
from  the  east  or  south,  before  storms,  according  to 
the  character  of  the  coming  wind.  Howard  mentions 
an  instance  when  he  heard  carriages  five  miles  off. 
Steamboat  paddles,  rail-road  cars,  and  other  sounds, 
are  often  heard  a  great  distance.  The  distance  at 
which  the  now  common  steam-whistle  is  heard,  and 
the  direction,  is  not  an  unimportant  auxiliary  indi- 
cation of  the  weather.  Howard  attributes  these  pe- 
culiar phenomena  to  the  "sounding  hoard"  made  by 
the  stratum  of  cloud;  but  sounds  may  be  heard  from 
the  north-west,  when  there  is  no  condensation,  and  the 
wind  is  from  that  quarter,  and  also  from  the  east 


392  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

•when  it  is  not  cloudy ;  and  in  a  level  country  the 
village  bells  often  tell  the  direction  of  the  current  of 
air  just  over  our  heads  when  we  do  not  feel  it  at  the 
surface.  The  wind  is  undoubtedly  moving  in  a  rapid, 
and  perhaps  invisible  current,  not  far  above  us.  If 
from  the -east  or  south,  it  betokens  rain  ;  if  from  the 
western  quarter,  fair  weather. 

The  conduct  of  the  different  animals  furnish  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  signs  alluded  to  by  Virgil 
and  Jenner,  and  are  never  unimportant  auxiliary 
evidence  of  the  approaching  changes,  whether  from 
dry  to  wet,  or  wet  to  dry. 

The  observer  will  find,  in  the  conduct  of  our  birds 
and  animals,  especially  those  which  are  not  domestic, 
ample  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  descriptions  of 
Yirgil.  He  denies  the  animals  and  birds  foresight, 
but  he  does  not  seem  to  have  observed  that  the  swal- 
low leaves  for  the  south  as  soon  as  the  autumnal 
change  begins  to  be  felt,  and  in  August ;  nor  the  evi- 
dent sagacity  of  other  migratory  birds.  They  do  not 
act  from  the  "  varying  impulse"  produced  by  an  actual 
state  of  things,  but  a  knowledge  or  apprehension  of 
those  which  are  to  come.  This  is  nothing  more  or 
less -than  foresight.  So  foresight  tends  to  prudence 
and  skill,  and  they  exercise  both,  and  with  reference 
to  the  future.  The  goldfinch  does  not  build  her  nest 
in  the  hole  of  the  tree,  or  in  the  crotch  of  the  limb ; 
but  hangs  it  with  exquisite  skill  on  the  slender  waving, 
outward  branch,  where  no  animal,  or  larger  bird,  or 
any  depredator,  can  be  sustained.  She  is  not  more 
timid  than  others;  why  does  she  invariably  thus 


THE    WEATHER.  393 

build?  What  makes  her  "impulses"  differ  from 
those  of  other  birds,  and  always  in  the  same  manner? 

Jenner,  too,  has  grouped,  in  admirably  descriptive 
language,  many  of  the  peculiarities  exhibited  by  ani- 
mals and  birds  before  approaching  storms,  some  of 
which  exhibit  foresight,  and  others  not. 

Perhaps  the  rooster,  who  keeps  ceaseless  watch 
over  his  harem,  is  the  most  reliable  weather-watcher 
we  have.  In  my  earlier  days,  when  it  was  the  prac- 
tice to  keep  valuable  birds  of  the  kind  much  longer 
than  it  now  is,  and  they  had  opportunity  to  become 
experienced,  it  was  interesting  to  observe  how  closely 
they  watched  the  weather.  I  well  remember  a  vener- 
able chanticleer,  who,  perched  on  the  tree  among  his 
hens,  would  always  foretell  the  coming  storm  of  the 
morrow,  by  sounding  forth  in  the  evening >  and  often, 
his  defiant  note.  Such  note  in  the  evening  was  in- 
variable evidence  of  foul  weather.  And  during  the 
night,  their  earlier  and  more  frequent  crowing  is  often 
indicative  of  it  It  is,  however,  in  the  earlier  part 
of  the  day,  in  doubtful  cases,  that  no  inconsider- 
able reliance  may  be  placed  on  their  sagacity.  Often, 
when  a  storm  is  gathering  in  the  forenoon,  they  will 
announce  it  by  an  almost  incessant  crowing.  The 
habits  of  an  experienced,  old-fashioned  bird,  of  this 
kind,  will  well  repay  attention ;  but  I  can  not  answer 
for  the  Shanghai  and  other  fancy  breeds. 

Jenner  says  : 

"  The  leech  disturbed,  is  newly  risen 
Quite  to  the  summit  of  his  prison." 

Few  have  had,  or  will  have,  opportunities  to  ob- 
17* 


894  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

serve  this,  but  it  is  strikingly  true.  It  is  difficult  to 
conceive  how  mere  condensation,  from  an  increase  of 
vapor  in  the  atmosphere,  should  be  foreseen  by  the 
leech  in  his  watery  prison.  It  is  obvious,  I  think, 
there  is  an  electric  change  which  reaches  him,  as  it 
does  the  whole  animal  creation,  the  once  broken 
bones,  and  the  joints  of  Aunt  Betty.  Thus  much  of 
the  philosophy  of  signs. 

The  barometer  is  a  useful  instrument,  in  connection 
with  observations  of  the  other  phenomena.  It  is 
especially  useful  to  the  sailor,  as  its  indications  rela- 
tive to  the  winds  are  much  the  most  certain.  But  it 
is  not,  alone,  to  be  relied  upon.  This  is  well  settled, 
although  the  reasons  for  it  have  not  been  understood. 
Why  it  should  rise  sometimes  before  storms,  in  op- 
position to  the  general  rule — or  fall  at  others  without 
rain — or  rise  occasionally  during  the  heaviest  gales, 
has  been  a  mystery,  and  impaired  the  confidence  in 
its  accuracy  and  usefulness  even  of  the  class  of 
philosophers  of  whom  Sir  George  Harvey  spoke,  in 
the  sentence  quoted  in  the  introduction.  But,  as  I 
have  already  intimated,  it  is  all  very  intelligible. 

I  have  said  that  the  barometer  has  no  fair  weather 
standard — the  mean  of  30  inches  at  the  level  of 
the  sea  being  an  average  of  the  fair  weather  elevations 
and  the  foul  weather  depressions.  Its  fair  weather 
position,  it  would  seem,  must  be  above  the  mean, 
therefore,  and  as  much  above  as  its  foul  weather  de- 
pressions are  below.  But  this  is  not  precisely  true. 
Its  extreme  fair  weather  range  is  31  inches,  and  it 
rarely  reaches  that ;  while  its  lowest  storm  range  is 


THE    WEATHER.  395 

down  to  28,  and  is  the  most  often  reached  of  the  two. 
My  barometer  stands  about  40  feet  above  ordinary 
high-water  mark.  It  is  not  a  "  wheel,"  but  an  open, 
"  scale"  barometer,  and  a  perfectly  good  one.  Its  most 
reliable  fair  weather  standard  is  about  30TVo  inches. 
It  is  its  most  common  summer ,  set  fair  position,  but 
that  position  is  often  at  other  and  different  ele- 
vations, at  other  perjods  of  the  year,  during  fair 
weather.  The  reader  must  observe  for  his  own  local- 
ity, and  satisfy  himself  what  the  most  common  set  fair 
position,  for  the  barometer  is,  at  the  different  periods 
of  the  year,  where  he  resides.  "When  he  has  ascer- 
tained this,  he  may  apply  the  following  principles  to 
illustrate  its  exceptional  action,  and  in  judging  of  the 
future  of  the  weather : 

1st.  As  to  its  rise  before  storms. — Supposing  it  to 
have  been  stationary,  at  or  about  a  set  fair  position, 
for  the  period,  and  for  one  or  two  or  more  days,  a 
very  gradual  and  moderate  rise  is  an  indication  of 
continued  fair  weather ;  and  a  sudden  and  consider- 
able  rise  is  indicative  of  a  storm.  If  the  sudden  and 
considerable  rise  occurs  in  the  latter  part  of  spring, 
summer,  or  early  autumn,  it  indicates  a  storm  of  the 
first  or  third  classes  described  in  Chapter  X.,  if  in 
winter,  a  storm  of  the  first  class  only.  If  the  eleva- 
tion is  very  sudden  and  considerable,  the  storm  will 
probably  be  severe.  The  philosophy  of  this,  accord- 
ing to  my  present  apprehension  of  it,  is,  that  these 
storms  present  an  extended  easterly  front — settle  very  near 
the  earth — and  have  a  rapid  progress — thus  accumulat- 
ing the  atmosphere  somewhat,  in  advance  of  them. 


396  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

2d.  As  to  its  fall  before  storms  without  previous  rise. — 
This  is  always  very  regular  before  the  second  class 
of  storms,  or  polar  belts  of  showers  and  storms.  It 
is  very  fairly  exemplified  in  the  table  from  Eeid,  on 
page  329.  The  barometer,  so  far  as  I  have  oppor- 
tunity to  observe,  does  not  rise  from  a  stationary 
position  on  the  approach  of  this  class  of  storms.  At 
the  commencement  of  heated^  summer,  dry  terms, 
my  barometer  has  most  frequently  ranged  at  about 
30.30,  and  gradually,  but  slowly,  fallen  below  30 
inches  before  the  belt  of  showers  arrived,  and  the 
term  closed.  The  fourth  rule  of  Dalton  (Meteor- 
ology, page  183)  indicates  a  similar  law  in  England. 
It  is  as  follows : 

"  In  summer,  after  a  long  continuance  of  fair  weather,  with  the- 
barometer  high,  it  generally  falls  gradually,  and  for  one,  two,  or 
more  days,  before  there  is  much  appearance  of  rain.  If  the  fall  bo 
sudden  and  great  for  the  season,  it  will  probably  be  followed  by 
thunder." 

3d.  It  falls  frequently  and  considerably  without 
rain. — This  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  all  regular, 
periodic  efforts  at  condensation  do  not  result  in  rain. 
The  second,  third,  and  fourth  classes  of  storms  de- 
scribed, may  not  (as  we  have  said)  be  sufficiently 
active  to  precipitate,  although  the  series  of  phenomena 
(including  the  fall  of  the  barometer)  may  be,  in  other 
respects,  perfect.  Such  an  instance  may  be  found  in 
Eeid's  table,  on  page  329,  and  on  the  llth  of  the 
month.  But  the  fall  in  such  cases  is  not  as  great, 
unless  the  wind  be  violent. 

4th.  It  rises  during  considerable  gales. — But  these 


THE    WEATHER.  397 

are  of  the  kind  so  often  alluded  to — vizL,  the  N.  W., 
in  the  northern  hemisphere,  and  the  S.  W+,  in  the 
southern ;  and  the  philosophy  of  it  has  been  explained, 
and  is  observable. 

With  these  explanations,  the  reader  will  be  able  to 
understand,  and  practically  apply,  the  barometric 
changes,  in  connection  with  the  other  phenomena, 
in  forming  an  opinion  of  the  weather. 

The  thermometer  is  also  an  auxiliary.  It  rises,  dur- 
ing the  winter  half  of  the  year,  in  the  advance  portion  of 
the  storm,  and  falls  when  it  passes  off  again  ;  and  the 
reverse  is  true,  as  we  have  seen,  when  its  range  is 
very  high  in  summer.  It  is,  therefore,  to  some  ex- 
tent, a  useful  auxiliary,  although  of  minor  import- 
ance. 

The  hygrometer  is  of  less  importance  still.  It  is  not 
in  general  use  as  a  practical  guide  to  the  changes  of 
the  weather,  and  does  not  deserve  to  be. 

A  question,  which  has  been  much  mooted,  deserves 
a  passing  notice  in  this  connection — viz.,  whether 
our  climate  has  gradually  become  ameliorated  and 
milder  on  the  eastern  part  of  our  continent,  since  its 
settlement.  I  have  not  space  left  for  its  discussion. 
Humboldt  (Aspects  of  Nature,  page  103)  is  of  opinion 
that  there  has  been  no  material  change.  He  says ; 

"  The  statements  so  frequently  advanced,  although  unsupported  by 
measurements,  that  since  the  first  European  settlements  in  New 
England,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia,  the  destruction  of  many  forests 
on  both  sides  of  the  Alleghanys,  has  rendered  the  climate  more 
equable — making  the  winters  milder  and  the  summers  cooler — are 
now  generally  discredited.  No  series  of  thermometric  observations 
worthy  of  confidence  extend  further  back,  in  the  United  States,  than 


398  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

seventy-eight  years.  We  find,  from  the  Philadelphia  observations, 
that  from  1711  to  1824r  the  mean  annual  heat  has  hardly  risen  2°.? 
Fahrenheit — an  increase  that  may  fairly  be  ascribed  to  the  extension 
of  the  town,  its  greater  population,  and  to  the  nnmerons  steam- 
engines.  This  annual  increase  of  temperature  may  also  be  owing  to 
accident,  for  in  the  same  period  I  find  that  there  was  an  increase  of 
the  mean  winter  temperature  of  2C  Fahrenheit ;  but,  with  this  ex- 
ception, the  seasons  had  all  become  somewhat  warmer.  Thirty- 
three  years'  observation,  at  Salem,  in  Massachusetts,  show  scarcely 
any  difference,  the  mean  of  each  one  oscillating  within  1°  of  Fahren- 
heit, about  the  mean  of  the  whole  number ;  and  the  winters  of  Salem, 
instead  of  having  been  rendered  more  mild,  as  conjectured,  from  tho 
eradication  of  the  forests,  have  become  colder,  by  4°  Fahrenheit,, 
during  the  last  thirty-three  years." 


The  facts  hereinbefore  stated  show  that  there  is 
nothing  like  a  regular  amelioration ;  that  the  seasons 
differ  during  the  same  decade,  and  different  decades. 
The  cold  decade,  from  1811  to  1820,  has  not  been 
reproduced.  But  it  may  be,  and  we  know  not  how 
soon.  Since  that  period  there  has  certainly  been  a- 
change — for  even  the  cold  period  from  1835  to  1840 
did  not  equal  that  from  1815  to  1820,  nor  indeed 
those  of  1775  to  1780  or  1795  to  1800.  But  as 
these  variations,  so  far  as  we  are  enabled  to  judge, 
depend  upon  the  varying  influence  of  the  sun's  rays, 
and  of  volcanic  action,  it  is  impossible  to  say  that 
equally  cold  periods  will  not  return,  during  the  latter 
half  of  this  century. 

If  the  influence  of  the  sun  was  constant,  and  vol- 
canic action  regular,  two  causes  would  tend  to  modify 
the  seasons : 

1st.  The  exposure  of  the  surface  to  a  more  effect- 
ive action  of  the  solar  rays,  by  a  removal  of  the 
forests,  and  by  drainage.  That  such  action  would  bo 


THE    WEATHER.  399 

more  effective  upon  a  surface  thus  uncovered  and 
drained,  can  not  be  doubted. 

2d.  Tlie  movement  of  the  area  of  magnetic  intensity, 
and  the  magnetic  pole,  to  the  west. — There  is  such  a 
movement,  and  its  progress  can  be  measured  by  the 
increase  of  declination  on  the  east  of  it,  and  its  de- 
crease on  the  west.  And  the  effect  of  it  on  climate 
is  unquestionable.  In  all  probability  it  has  had  an 
influence  upon  ours ;  and  a  removal  of  that  area  and 
pole  still  further  west — 60°  or  80° — would  change 
the  location  of  the  concentrated  trade,  and  the  Gulf 
Stream,  and  restore  to  Greenland  the  fertility  she 
once  had,  and  which  the  Faroe  Islands  now  enjoy. 
And,  on  the  other  hand,  its  removal  as  far  east  of  its 
present  position  would  again  depopulate  Greenland, 
and  render  it  again  inaccessible.  But  I  can  not  pur- 
sue this  subject 

Finally,  assistance  may  be  derived  from  the  oc- 
casional, although  imperfect,  accounts  of  the  state  of 
the  weather  elsewhere,  which  the  newspapers  afford. 
I  have  been  much  indebted  to  the  Associated  Press 
of  New  York  for  intelligence  contained  in  their  tele- 
graphic reports.  Occasionally  they  have  been  very 
full  and  instructive. 

On  this  point^  however,  there  is  less  of  reality  in 
the  present  than  of  hope  in  the  future.  The  time 
must  come  when  the  collection  and  dissemination  of 
meteorological  truth,  will  be  deemed  an  object  of 
national  importance,  and  national  duty.  Population 
is  increasing,  by  immigration  and  propagation,  in  a 
rapidly  progressive  ratio.  There  has  been  great 


400  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF 

danger  tliat  it  would  outrun  agricultural  production, 
A  short  crop  this  year  would  have  been  disastrous  to 
our  prosperity — and  the  danger  was  imminent.  Every 
description  of  business,  and  every  financial  circle, 
felt  that  fever  of  anxiety  it  was  so  well  calculated 
to  induce.  The  importance  of  extended  agricultural 
production,  and  the  dependence  of  all  classes  upon 
its  success,  are  now  in  a  greater  measure  appreciated ; 
and  none  can  fail  to  see  the  value  of  a  correct  under- 
standing of  the  weather  to  the  agriculturist,  how 
short-sighted  soever  they  may  be,  in  relation  to  its 
direct  influence  upon  their  own  prosperity  and 
happiness. 

Our  country  is,  physically,  a  most  favored  one. 
The  facts  disclosed  or  alluded  to  in  this  volume  show 
that  it  is  without  a  parallel  on  the  face  of  the  globe  • 
and  our  facilities  for  meteorological  observation,  and 
the  ascertainment  and  practical  application  of  meteor- 
ological truth,  are  equally  pre-eminent.  The  great 
extent  and  unbroken  surface  of  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  continent ;  its  excessive  supply  of  magnetism 
and  atmospheric  currents,  and  the  consequent  mark- 
ed character  of  the  phenomena ;  the  existence  and 
prospective  increase  of  telegraph  lines  over  most  of 
its  surface  ;  the  homogeneous  and  energetic  character 
of  a  population  united,  upon  so  large  a  surface,  under 
one  government;  the  freedom  of  that  government 
from  debt,  and  the  excess  of  its  revenue ;  the  pos- 
session of  a  National  Observatory,  with  a  competent 
philosopher  at  its  head;  and  a  national  institution, 
liberally  endowed,  and  adapted  to  the  collection  and 


THE    WEATHER.  401 

diffusion  of  practical  and  scientific  intelligence,  give 
us  an  opportunity  and  a  capacity  for  connected  ob- 
servation and  investigation,  and  an  ability  to  profit 
by  it,  that  no  other  nation  can  boast. 

We  have,  too,  a  just  national  pride.  Our  explor- 
ing ships  have  penetrated  and  made  discoveries  in 
both  hemispheres,  and  our  travelers  have  visited  suc- 
cessfully every  clime ;  and  thus  our  national  inte- 
rests, and  obligations,  and  pride,  demand  an  organiza- 
tion, practical  and  permanent,  in  relation  to  this  sub- 
ject, and  the  time  will  come  when  we  shall  have  it. 

When  that  time  comes — when  the  present  limited 
horizon  of  each  of  us  is  practically  extended  over  the  en- 
tire country — and  v/hen  the  actual  state  of  the  weather 
over  every  -part  of  it  is  known,  at  the  same  time, 
to  the  inhabitants  of  every  other,  and  every  where 
read  in  the  light  of  a  correct  philosophy,  prognostica- 
tion will  be  comparatively  simple  and  certain ;  and 
A  PROGRESS  will  have  been  made,  productive  of  an 
amount  of  pecuniary,  intellectual,  and  social  benefit 
to  the  people,  which  can  not  be  overestimated.  May 
it  come  before  the  shadows  of  the  night  of  death 
have  gathered  around  us,  that  we  may  have  a  more 
perfect  view  of  that  atmospheric  machinery  which 
distinguishes  our  planet  'from  others,  and  is,  with 
such  infinite  wisdom,  adapted  to  make  it  a  fit  habi- 
tation for  man  I 


THE  EKD. 


APPENDIX. 


SINCE  this  work  was  completed  I  have  received  a  very  valuable 
publication,  entitled,  the  "  Army  Meteorological  Register."  It  is  a 
compilation  of  the  observations  made  by  the  officers  of  the  medical 
department  of  the  army,  at  the  military  Posts  of  the  United  States, 
from  1843  to  1854  inclusive,  prepared  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Surgeon-general,  and  published  by  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 
To  this,  there  is  appended  a  report  or  general  review  of  the  prominent 
features  of  American  climatology,  so  far  as  the  basis  afforded  by  the 
published  obervation  of  the  army  medical  Bureau  would  warrant  posi- 
tive deduction,  by  Mr.  Lorin  Blodget,  a  distinguished  meteorologist, 
accompanied  by  temperature  and  rain  charts,  for  each  of  the  four 
seasons  ; — exhibiting  the  various  local  difference*  and  peculiarities  re- 
lative to  temperature  and  precipitation  in  each. 

These  local  differences  and  peculiarities  and  contrasts  are  deduced 
and  delineated  by  Mr.  Blodget  with  much  ability.  He  was  fettered,  how- 
ever, by  the  prevailing  calorific  theories,  and  the  unfortunate  prac- 
tice of  grouping  the  phenonema  into  means  for  the  seasons,  Spring,  Sum- 
mer, Autumn,  and  Winter,  which  grouping  is  arbitrary,  and  compara- 
tively uninstructive.  Hence,  he  failed  to  discover  what  the  tables  and 
summaries  most  clearly  disclose — the  -  principles  and  system  unfolded 
in  the  foregoing  work. 

But  the  summaries  of  this  register  contain  observations  made  at 
posts  in  Western  and  Southwestern  Texas,  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska, 
and  in  New  Mexico  and  California,  where  there  has  been  a  dearth  of 
such  observations  hitherto,  and  enable  me  to  demonstrate,  more  con- 
clusively, and  I  think  so  that  none  can  fail  to  understand  it,  the  truth 
of  the  philosophy  I  have  endeavored  to  exhibit. 

To  do  this,  I  will  take  a  year, — divide  it  into  two  seasons,  the 
periods  of  northern  and  southern  transit,  the  only  natural  and  correct 
division — and  note  the  phenomena  in  each,  as  each  progresses. 

And  I  will -take  the  year  1854,  because  that  is  the  last  year  for 
•which  the  record  of  observation  is  complete ;  because  it  had  marked 
peculiarities  which  are  remembered ;  and  because  I  have  alluded  to 
those  peculiarities,  and  those  allusions  should  be  confirmed  or  dis- 
proved by  the  record.  Unless  I  mistake  exceedingly,  the  confirmation 
•will  be  found  signal  and  convincing. 

I  have  assumed,  pp.  187,  351,  that  the  transits  were  greater  in  some 
seasons  than  others  ;  that  the  drought  of  1854  was  owing  to  an  ex- 
treme northern  transit,  or  to  an  extension  west  of  the  concentrated 
counter-trade,  or  both,  leaving  us  less  supplied  with  moisture  than 
usual 


404 


APPENDIX. 


In  point  of  fact,  it  appears  from  these  observations  that  it  resulted 
from  both  causes,  operating  connectedly;  and  the  annals  of  Science 
rarely  furnish  a  more  striking  instance  of  analogical  inference  proved 
true  by  subsequent  investigation. 

Commencing  then  with  the  commencement  of  the  northern  tran- 
sit about  the  1st  of  February,  we  are  enabled  to  trace  the  then  location 
of  our  concentrated  trade,  and  its  subsequent  progress  to  the  north  till 
August,  and  its  influence  upon  temperature  and  precipitation.  And  we 
can  also  trace  the  situation  during  the  same  period,  of  the  intervening 
drought,  and  the  inter-tropical  belt  of  rains,  and  the  extension  of  tho 
latter  north  over  Florida  and  the  cotton-planting  States. 

On  the  1st  of  February,  1854,  our  counter-trade  was  somewhat  more 
concentrated  on  its  extreme  winter  curve,  over  the  Southern  States, 
than  usual.  Its  line  of  excess  reached  up  from  Fort  Brooke,  on  the 
peninsula  of  Florida,  to  the  northwest,  a  little  east  ofPensacola  on  the 
gulf,  cutting  Mount  Vernon  Arsenal  north  of  Pensacola,  and  extending 
thence  north-westwardly  on  to  Eastern  Louisiana,  and  curving  thence 
and  passing  N.  E.  or  E.  N.  E.,  to  the  Atlantic,  about  the  waters  of  the 
Chesapeake  Bay.  It  thinned  out  to  the  west  over  New  Orleans  and 
Baton  Rouge,  supplying  them  moderately,  but  did  not  extend  to  the 
forts  of  Texas  on  the  west,  nor  the  posts  in  the  Indian  Territory  at  the 
N.  W.  It  was  east  of  Fort  Towson,  which  is  the  south-eastern  one..  It 
did  not  reach  St.  Louis  on  the  north,  nor  extend  north  of  the  Ohio 
River,  as  will  appear  from  the  tables  hereinafter  given.  The  follow- 
ing cut  shows  substantially  its  situation  on  the  1st  of  February. 


Now,  during  the  month  of  .Lummy,  we  find  the  following  state  of 
things.  Under  this  concentrated  trade,  the  temperature  was  above  the 
mean,  even  if  Forts  Monroe  and  McIIenry  on  the  Atlantic  are  included  ; 
but  Mr.  Blodget  discredits  their  returns,  and  sonic  others  which  do 


APPENDIX. 


405 


not  conform  to  general  results.     On  the  west  and  north  of  its  curving 
line,  both  precipitation  and  temperature  were  below  the  mean. 

Under  the  counter  trade,  we  have  the  following  stations,  with 
their  actual  and  mean  temperature.  I  have  inserted  the  temperature  for 
several  subsequent  months,  to  show  a  depression  hi  April. 

TABLE  I. 


LAT. 

LON. 

JAN. 

FEB. 

MAR. 

APRIL. 

MAT. 

/TINE. 

JULY. 

FortMoultrie.... 

32.45 

79.51 

50.83 

53.09 

62.72 

62.76 

73.35 

78.55 

82.06 

Mean  of  28  yrs. 

50-36 

52.41 

53.68 

65.44 

73.42 

79.01 

81.72 

Fort  Pierce  

27.30 

80.20 

67.91 

67.33 

73.01 

71.10 

78.41 

82.09 

8416 

Mean  of  5  yrs.  . 

62.75 

64.42 

69.77 

73.63 

76.92 

79.02 

S2.50 

Fort  Meade  

28.01 

82.00 

63.75 

63.33 

70.64 

68.10 

76.31 

79.10 

80.17 

Mean  of  3  yrs.  . 

53.40 

63.23 

69.02 

69.89 

76.69 

73.24 

79.76 

Fort  Brooke  

28.00 

82.29 

62.94 

62.36 

70.06 

70.07 

77.49 

80.51 

81.08 

Mean  of  25  yrs. 

61.53 

63.54 

67.72 

71.82 

76.64 

79.46 

80.72 

Fort  Myers  
Mean  of  4  yrs.  - 

26.33 

82.00 

63.39 

67.39 
67.98 

73.74 
72.19 

71.01 

73.86 

79.13 
80.13 

82.35 
81.25 

81.91 
82.87 

Key  "West 

24.32 

81.48 

7175 

71.95 

76.56 

73.89 

80.84 

83.34 

83.30 

Mean  of  14  yrs. 

66.63 

63.88 

72.88 

75.33 

79.10  |  81.63 

83.00 

Fort  Barrancas.. 

80.1S 

87.27 

54.71 

5456 

6493 

62.93 

75.40    81.00 

84.55 

Mean  of  17  yrs. 

53.61 

55.58 

61.80 

68.51 

75.45  .  80.80 

82.26 

Mt  Vernon  Ars'l 

31.12 

88.02 

51.52 

53.18 

65.24 

62.30 

7464  i  79.17 

73.90 

Mean  of  14  yrs. 

50.44 

53.69 

60.26 

66.37 

73.92 

78.03 

78.62 

Baton  Eouge.... 

30.26 

91.18 

53.43 

56.48 

66.24 

64.63 

75.10 

80.61 

80.09 

Mean  of  24  yrs. 

53.47 

55.02 

61.93 

69.30 

75.60 

80.56    81.81 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  temperature  was  above  the  mean  in  Janu- 
ary at  every  post  except  Baton  Rouge,  and  there  it  was  at  the  mean. 
We  shall  see  hereafter  that  Baton  Rouge  was  near  its  western  line. 

Under  this  trade  during  this  month,  and  at  the  same  posts,  the 
fall  of  rain  was  as  follows,  compared  with  the  mean : — 


TABLE  H. 


JANUARY. 

FEBR'T. 

MAECH. 

APRIL. 

MAY. 

ft 

fc 

f3 

| 

1 

1 

i 

| 

i 

| 

| 

I 

i 

1 

Key  West  .... 
Fort  Myers.   .- 
"    Brooke  -- 
"    Mead  
"    Pierce.  .. 
"    Barrancas. 
Mt  Vernon  Ars'l 
Baton  Rouge  — 
Fort  Moultrie  .  .  . 

1.77 
1.15 
3.88 
1.30 
3.55 
3.45 
11.01 
2.85 
3.80 

2.86 
3.90 
2.20 
1.07 
4.45 
3.87 
6.80 
5.26 
2.39 

2.55 
4.70 
6.89 
2.21 
3.40 
5.55 
12.83 
5.50 
2.84 

1.38 
2.16 
3.01 
1.01 
2.72 
495 
6.04 
491 
2.33 

0.51 
0.20 
2.44 
1.85 
1.05 
7.21 
6.22 
6.15 
0.25 

4.21 
460 
3.37 
1.64 
3.01 
5.87 
4.59 
468 
4.06 

2.99 
2.75 
8.S2 
3.19 
7.00 
0.50 
1.96 
3.53 
2.20 

1.55 
3.14 
1.95 
1.78 
3.85 
2.94 
4.21 
5.22 
1.75 

3.14 
5.65 
6.21 
10.51 
5.70 
3.47 
445 
8.05 
S,0 

2.58 
3.33 
3.24 
5.34 
4.27 
4.05 
462 
5.18 
40S 

4.54 
6.75 
9.44 
7.24 
6.63 
3.39 
6.72 
4.00 
4.20 

3.45 
9.70 
15.53 
8.55 
497 
5.43 
6.13 
6.55 
5.69 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  February  the  counter-trade  and  extra- 
tropical  belt  had  moved  up  from  Key  West,  and  a  drought,  which 
sometimes  intervenes  between  the  concentrated  counter-trade  and  the 


406 


APPENDIX. 


inter-tropical  belt,  appeared  there  in  February  and  March.  In  April, 
the  inter-tropical  belt  appeared  at  that  point,  and  went  on  increasing 
till  September.  As  the  counter-trade  commenced  moving  north  in 
February,  an  increased  precipitation  above  the  mean  commenced  at 
all  the  more  southern  stations  under  the  concentrated-trade — an  earnest 
of  that  irregularity  which  followed,  and  marked  the  season  as  the  most 
excessive  of  the  century. 

In  March,  the  intervening  drought  appeared  at  the  other  posts  on 
the  peninsula,  and  also  at  Fort  Moultrie,  followed  much  more  closely 
than  usual,  by  the  inter-tropical  belt  of  rains.  In  April,  the  drought 
appeared  at  Fort  Barrancas  and  Mount  Vernon  Arsenal  (the  wave  of 
precipitation  having  moved  to  the  west),  and  slightly  in  comparison  at 
Baton  Rouge. 

If  now  we  look  at  the  condition  of  things,  •west  and  north  of  the 
curving  line  of  concentrated  trade,  from  Fort  Brown,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Rio  Grande,  in  South-western  Texas,  through  that  State,  the  In- 
dian Territory,  Arkansas,  Missouri,  Kentucky,  and  Northern  Pennsyl- 
vania, to  the  Atlantic,  we  find  the  thermometer  every  where  in  Janu- 
ary below  the  mean.  The  following  table  will  show  this,  and  the 
precipitation  for  that  month  and  February : — 

TABLE  III. 


JANUARY. 

FEBRUARY. 

MARCH. 

Rain  in  Jununry. 

Rain  in  February. 

1 

1 

i 

rf 

§ 

£ 

•jj 
1 

o' 

3 

Western  Texas, 

Fort  Brown  

59.34 

60.41 

62  45 

63  63 

71  ^7 

68  95 

0  4?> 

1  *irt 

"    Ewell 

50.47 

52  92 

58  12 

57  61 

Tn  >i  i 

A7  f\f\ 

u.*±o 

A  OO 

I.OU 
O  Qft 

"    Inge 

47.24 

49  46 

56  04 

K*  OA        t\—  E,  | 

O(  .UU 

CO   £O 

u.raf 

Oon 

56.  Ov 

o  -i  e 

Indian,  Territory. 

Od.OJ 

VM  .Wt 

O^.Oo 

.^U 

A.  Id 

Fort  Towson  

86.32 

43.14 

49.29 

45.07 

59.55 

53.40 

1.01 

2.00 

Forts  Gibson,  Washita, 

and  Arbuckle,  in  much 

the  same  proportions.  - 

Arkansas. 

Fort  Smith  

33.92 

40.18 

47.0i 

43.89 

57.01 

51.53 

1.37 

2.05 

Missouri. 

St  Louis  Arsenal.  

25.47 

81.44 

36.66 

83.43 

46.10 

42.30 

O.C5 

2.40 

Kentucky. 

Newport  Barracks.  

31.75 

34.<;4 

89.60 

36.94 

46.74 

45.46 

3.20 

5.30 

Pennsylvania. 

Alleghany  Arsenal  

29.05 

29.25 

33.49 

31.16 

40.36 

39.02 

2.23 

2.33 

Delaware. 

Fort  Delaware 

P>°.  38 

33.67 

34.56 

35.84 

43*18 

42.93 

2.30 

5.45 

New  York  Harbor. 

Fort  Columbus  

28.71 

30.18 

28.17 

30.44 

36.17 

3S.2S 

2.CO 

4,00 

APPENDIX. 


407 


We  find,  also,  from  this  and  table  first,  that  every  -where,  except  at 
Fort  Brown,  and  upon  the  Atlantic  coast,  the  temperature  had  risen 
above  the  mean  in  February. 

The  situation  of  the  belt  -which  supplied  the  -western  coast  in 
•winter,  and  its  excess  of  precipitation,  are  also  represented  upon  the 
cut.  The  intervening  area  was  not  "without  counter-trade  and  precipi- 
tation— the  latter,  of  course,  greatest  over  the  area  of  intensity — but 
they  were  comparatively  less,  as  the  tables  will  show. 

The  following  cut  and  table  show  the  situation  of  the  concen- 
trated counter-trade  in  March. 


TABLE  IV. 


£ 

tf 

J 

J 

. 

rf 

. 

b 

§ 

§ 

M 
E 

< 

g 

K 

* 

I 

Fort  Barrancas,  Fensacola  Bay  

3.45  5.55 

7  21 

0.50 

3.47 

3.39 

5.43 

Mean 

3  97  4  05     5  ^7 

2  94 

4  05 

466 

680 

Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana  

2S5  .V  50     fi'i* 

353 

S'05 

400 

655 

Mean  

52G 

4  91  1    4*  68 

522 

518 

552 

742 

Fort  Towson,  Indian  Territory  

1.01 

2.00;  5.10 

2.22 

Eecrd 

stops 

icre. 

Mean 

3  13 

2  97 

4  38 

5  33 

Fort  Gibson,  Indian  Territory  
Mean 

0.30 
1  33 

1.43 
2  °6 

7-83 

254 

3!l6 
419 

7.67 
4  65 

2.80 
430 

0.21 
2.75 

Fort  Smith,  Arkansas  

1  S7 

<>O.T 

705 

655 

625 

2.26 

1.02 

Mean 

1  % 

917 

2  92 

510 

446 

474 

3.82 

065 

240 

7  10 

430 

465 

220 

1.70 

Mean  

1  w 

382 

416 

483 

6.94 

004 

Newport  Barracks,  Kentucky  
(No  Mean  given.) 

3.20 

5.30 

8.10 

2.10 

408 


APPENDIX. 


We  see  from  this  table  that  its  focus  had  extended  west  in  Florida 
over  Fort  Barrancas,  and  over  Baton  Rouge  in  Louisiana;  N.  W. 
to  Forts  Towson  and  Gibson  in  the  Indian  Territory,  and  Smith  in 
Arkansas;  north  to  St.  Louis  Arsenal  at  St.  Louis,  and  to  Newport 
barracks  in  Kentucky  ;  but  it  was  spread  over  a  larger  surface  east 
of  the  mountains.  Its  greatest  progress  for  the  month,  was  a  west 
and  north-west  progress. 

In  April,  we  find  it  had  progressed  rapidly  west  and  north-west, 
and  its  position  is  shown  by  the  following  cut  and  table. 


TABLE  V. 


JANUARY. 

FEBRUARY. 

M 

APRIL. 

!j 

I 

f4     i    * 

's,          a 

u>          t> 
*•»       !      *^ 

000 

091 

1  86 

455 

435 

fio  ooo 

004 

1  7S 

1  33 

3  35 

5  55 

450    018 

Mean        ~ 

07* 

1  01 

1  61 

274 

362 

580    315 

Allcghany  Arsenal,  Pittsburgh  

2.13 
918 

2.33 
917 

2.82 
270 

4.21 

3  10 

224 
358 

2.06    1.45 
3  56    2.97 

Fort  Columbus,  New  York  Harbor. 

2.60 

?7S 

4.00 
<jq<? 

0.70 
844 

8.80 

3.33 

7.70 

4.78 

2.20    1.90 
3.46    3.17 

Fort  Independence   Boston  

950 

3R6 

255 

540 

4.28 

2.00  , 

West  Point                           

Rf)^ 

504 

2.81 

10M 

5.08 

1.62  I 

850 

344 

3.71 

4.55 

C.18 

4.79 

We  see,  too,  that  both  east  and  west  of  the  mountains,  its  focus 
of  precipitation  was  one  month  in  advance  of  the  mean.     At  all  the 


APPENDIX.  409 

stations  where  the  greatest  fall  was  in  March,  it  should  have  been  in 
April,  and  the  fall  at  those  points  was  greatly  in  excess  of  the  usual 
quantity.  And  the  same  was  true  of  stations  reached  in  April.  The 
concentrated  trade,  instead  of  spreading  out,  and  precipitating  over 
the  whole  south-eastern  portion  of  the  continent  (its  normal  condition), 
was  gathered  into  a  wave  of  greater  volume,  resulting  in  greater  pre- 
cipitation, and  was  rapidly  hastening  its  curve  to  the  west  over  Texas, 
and  to  the  north-west  over  the  Indian  Territory,  and  northward  on  its 
usual  curve  to  the  north  and  east  of  them. 

The  observations  for  April  disclose  another  singular  and  instruc- 
tive condition.  The  temperature,  that  had  every  where  been  above 
the  mean  in  March,  fell  below  it  in  April  under  the  concentrated 
trade.  And  snow  fell  on  three  days  in  some  localities,  and  four  ia 
others. 

Along  the  Ohio  River,  it  fell  to  the  depth  of  8  to  10  inches  on  the 
17th,  and  east  of  the  mountains  to  a  greater  depth  on  the  18th,  one 
day  later.  It  fell  to  the  depth  of  4  inches  at  Marietta  on  the  29th  also. 
Dr.  Hilldreth,  American  Journal  of  Science  for  March,  1855,  says  : — 

"It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  deepest  snow,  8  inches,  fell  on  the 
17th  of  April,  and  at  the  head  waters  about  Pittsburg  over  a  foot. 
Also,  on  the  29th  of  the  month,  at  Marietta,  4  juaches,  a  very  rare 
occurrence."  This  depression  of  the  temperature  was  quite  general, 
but  the  fall  of  snow  was  local.  The  latter  was  north  of  a  line  drawn, 
from  Fort  Laramie,  at  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in  an 
E.  S.  E.  direction — north  of  Forts  Kearney  and  Leavenworth,  and 
of  St.  Louis,  but  south  of  Newport  barracks  in  Kentucky,  and  from 
thence  to  the  Atlantic.  Snow  fell  at  every  station  north  of  this  line, 
at  no  station  south  of  it.  The  depression  of  temperature,  however, 
was  experienced  over  the  continent,  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
under,  and  south  of,  the  belt  of  precipitation.  Now  what  occasioned 
this  general  depression  of  temperature,  and  local  fall  of  snow  ?  It 
•will  not  do  to  say,  as  perhaps  some  calorific  theorist  may  be  inclined 
to  say,  because  the  concentrated  trade  had  been  carried  up  where  it 
•was  cold,  a  month  too  soon  ;  or  that  the  sun  had  heated  the  land  in 
advance  of  it,  and  drawn  it  up. 

For,  1st,  it  might  well  be  asked  how,  if  it  was  warm  enough  to 
draw  it  up,  could  it  be  cold  enough  to  make  it  snow ;  or,  2d,  how 
happened  it  to  start,  when,  as  we  have  seen,  it  was  warmer  than  the 
mean  under  it,  and  colder  than  the  mean  to  the  north  and  west  of  it, 
when  it  commenced  its  journey  ? 

But  again,  it  snowed  at  posts  north  of  the  line,  while  the  ther- 
mometer remained  above  the  mean ;  and  the  thermometer  fell  below 
the  mean  down  to  Fort  Brown  in  south-western  Texas,  and  at  Key 
West  in  the  southern  part  of  Florida ;  and  what  is  more  remarkable 
still,  at  Key  West,  Fort  Barrancas,  and  every  other  south-eastern 
station,  except  Forts  Brooke  and  Moultrie,  it  not  only  fell  below  the 
mean  of  the  month,  but  below  the  actual  temperature  of  March.  (See 
Table  I.)  At  Forts  Brooke  and  Moultrie  it  did  not  rise  above  that 
temperature.  West  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  the  depression  was  not 
felt ;  nor  at  stations  north,  or  north-west  of  the  belt  of  precipitation. 

It  is  obvious,  the  calorifice  theory  can  furnish  no  rational  explana- 
tion of  this  matter ;  for  the  reason  that,  whatever  the  cause,  it  operated 


410 


APPENDIX. 


not  only  under,  but  south,  and  far  south  of  the  belt  of  precipitation. 
It  could  not  have  been  spots  upon  the  sun,  or  other  general  cause,  for 
then  it  would  have  operated  in  New  Mexico  and  California,  and  at 
the  north-western  stations.  It  operated  most  intensely  in  Florida  and 
the  South-Eastern  States,  which  approach  most  nearly  the  volcanic 
areas  of  South  America  and  the  West  Indies.  I  believe  it  to  have 
been  occasioned  by  volcanic  action  affecting  the  local  magnetism  of 
our  intense  area  ;  but  it  is  a  most  important  development,  and  should 
be  thoroughly  investigated.  We  may  find  in  it  the  key  to  the 
mysterious,  but  unquestionable,  influence  of  volcanic  upon  magnetic 
action;  and  I  hope  the  distinguished  surgeon-general  will  cause  tho 
records  of  that  month  to  be  published  "  in  extenso." 

In  May  and  June,  the  trade  became  more  concentrated,  a  per- 
fectly developed  belt  from  the  Rio  Grande  to  the  Lakes  and  British 
possessions,  and  doubtless  to  the  Atlantic,  with  every  where  a  central 
focus  of  excessive  precipitation,  gathering  to  itself  in  one  vast  wave 
the  current  that  should  have  been  spread  out  over  the  whole  country ; 
and  leaving  every  where  on  its  eastern  and  southern  borders,  down  to 
the  northern  edge  of  the  inter-tropical  belt  of  rains — (which  extended 
up  to  lines  drawn  from  Baton  Rouge  to  Charleston) — a  perfectly  well 
developed  and  defined  drought.  That  drought  will  long  be  remembered. 
The  following  cuts  show,  approximately,  the  location  of  the  belt  of 
precipitation  and  drought  for  those  months,  and  the  table  which  fol- 
lows will  show  their  correctness. 

The  tables  also  show  that  this  wave  was  occasionally  a  double,  or 
divided  one — evinced  by  an  intervening  partial  precipitation.  Tables 
IV.,  V.,  and  VI.,  also  snoAV  the  commencement  of  the  drought  at  the 
several  stations,  as  the  wave  moved  to  the  west  and  north. 

MAY. 


APPENDIX. 


411 


TABLE  VI. 


§ 

1 

0.45 
1.61 
0.70 
1.24 
0.11 
0.23 
0.05 
0.26 
0.20 
0.64 
0.01 
0.11 

0.23 
0.50 
0.18 
0.27 
1.20 
0.72 
0.73 
0.67 
O.S6 
2.59 
1.25 
2.49 
1.S4 
1.68 
2.25 

FEBBUAKT. 

a 

4 

s 

E 
•< 

0.05 
0.56 
0.00 
1.08 
1.16 
1.62 
0.00 
0.71 
0.75 
1.26 
0.2S 
1.75 

2.56 
2.  68 
3.9S 
1.93 
2.S3 
2.51 
2.14 
0.97 
1.42 
1.04 
1.21 
2.14 
1.S8 
2.25 
2.20 

Jj 

rf 

| 

1 

j 

Fort  Brown 

1.50 

2.25 
1.69 
1.18 
1.99 
2.09 
0.69 
1.27 
2.15 
2.21 
0.77 
1.10 

1.33 
0.48 
0.40 
0.71 
0.01 
0.03 
0.52 
0.03 
0.37 
1.23 
O.S2 
1.1S 
1.18 
2.52 
1.S9 

1.15 
1.20 
0.22 
0.72 
0.05 
0.09 
1.50 
1.34 
3.00 
1.79 
2.10 
1.42 

LSI 

1.55 
O.SO 
1.37 
1.18 
1.03 
1.30 
0.79 
1.80 
1.56 
1.14 
1.34 
137 
1.87 
2.12 

4.10 
2.21 
2.83 
2.09 
7.66 

3.43 
2.53 
150 

3.88 

3.01 
372 

497 

3.93 

415 
6.57 
4.46 
5.S9 
6.84 
4.30 
8.17 
4.34 
3.09 
2.65 
2.32 
3.61 
2.24 
8.90 
2.55 

7.65 

4.55 
10.98 
3.47 
470 
410 
6.83 
5.63 
2.09 
5.38 
0.15 
8.33 

024 
5.40 

436 
3.67 
2.95 
2.70 
3.31 
3.63 
3.6S 
515 
6.35 
2.S1 
1.23 
2.83 
171 
8.28 

4.25 
1.95 
4.06 
3.18 
5.44 
6.13 
0.83 
8.85 
0.97 
8.66 
2.91 
0.00 

2.14 
3.51 
5.07 
8.26 
1.83 
249 
3.92 
4.11 
0.62 
5.20 
5.67 
3.20 
8.21 
3.73 
4.03 
8.49 

5.00 
2.76 
1.5S 
1.50 
8.13 
3.40 
0.90 
0.93 
1.67 
2.02 
0.04 
0.75 

2.61 
1.18 
2.62 

1.27 

0.92 
2.23 

1.75 

3.18 

1.69 

2.27 
4.26 
2.87 
3.S6 
3.39 
1.52 
8.04 

11.31 
6.73 
3.02 
3.22 
5.01 
460 
4.81 
3.28 
4.80 
2.21 
3.86 
1.53 

153 
460 
1.83 
1.60 
1.33 
253 
6.55 
3.32 
440 
4.92 
3.22 
2.97 
3.13 
4.83 
2.61 
8.95 

Einggold  Barracks  

Fort  Merrill 

Mean  

Mean  

Mean  

Fort  McKavet 

"    Belknap  

"    Massachusetts,  Nor- 
thern New  Mexico.  . 
Fort  Kearney  

Mean  
Fort  Eidgley.  

Snelling 

Mean  .... 

Fort  Eipley 

Mean  

Fort  Mackinac  
Mean  

Fort  Brady..     .. 

Fort  Niagara  

Mean,  

412 


APPE  NDIX. 


But  the  belt  of  trade  continued  its  progress  to  the  west  and  north, 
and  during  the  months  of  July  and  August  the  drought  extended  in 
both  directions,  reaching,  in  August,  from  Mississippi,  Alabama, 
Georgia,  and  South  Carolina,  to  the  Lakes,  and  from  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains to  the  Atlantic.  Its  position  is  shown  by  the  following  cut,  and 
the  position  of  the  belt  of  precipitation  by  the  following  table. 


TABLE  VII. 

Situation  of  the  focus  of  Precipitation  in  July  and  August. 


JUNE. 

JTTLT. 

AUO. 

SEPT. 

OCT. 

New  Mexico. 
Fort  Thome 

0  OS 

2  23 

601 

350 

0.00 

028 

250 

1.19 

2.67 

1.37 

Sunta  Fe           

032 

411 

3.86 

406 

2.50 

1  24 

3  94 

524 

347 

0.62 

"    Yuma  

000 

001 

2.37 

0.17 

0.30 

Ban  Die^o                           ...... 

002 

0  07 

1  35 

0.13 

0.01 

Fort  Snellin1*  Minnesota 

8  31 

392 

1  75 

635 

1.23 

"    Brady0'  

1  23 

321 

3.86 

3.1S 

3.40 

635 

567 

4.26 

3.22 

2.23 

I  have  not  space  for  all  the  comment  which  this  exposition  is  cal- 
culated to  induce.  The  reader  will  not  only  find  in  it  an  explanation 
of  the  extraordinary  character  of  the  summer  of  1854,  but  will  see 
from  the  means,  that  it  was  but  an  excessive  development  of  an  ANNUAL 
PHENOMENON, — THE  PROGRESS  OF  A  CONCENTRATED  COUNTER-TRADE. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  with  particularity  the  return  transit. 


APPENDIX. 


It  required  no  great  degree  of  sagacity  to  predict,  at  the  time,  that  the 
drought  would  continue  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  till  about  the  10th 
of  September.  The  return  of  the  belt  to  that  latitude,  was  not  to  be 
expected  before  that  time,  and  the  drought  continued,  in  fact,  until 
the  9th  of  September. 

Its  return  progress  was  slow,  and  it  was  every  where  behind  time. 
The  autumn  was  warm,  and  so,  indeed,  were  December  and  January, 
west  of  the  area  of  magnetic  intensity,  although  upon,  and  east  of  it, 
there  was  a  depression  in  December.  The  retreating  but  lingering 
edge  of  counter-trade,  with  its  excess  of  snow  for  the  season,  caught 
the  Iron  Horse,  with  its*train  and  passengers,  upon  the  prairies  of  the 
west,  and  laid  its  embargoing  hands  upon  them.  Few,  if  any,  can 
have  forgotten  the  thrilling  accounts  which  reached  us  from  that  sec- 
tion, of  the  sufferings  endured  by  those  who  were  thus  embargoed  for 
days  and  nights,  far  from  the  comfortable  habitations  of  their  fellow 
men. 

But  the  return  transit,  though  slow,  was  extreme,  and  February 
and  March  were  exceedingly  cold  for  the  season.  The  transit  to  the 
north,  again,  did  not  commence  as  early  as  usual,  and  the  spring  was 
backward,  and  the  summer  cool.  Both  were  without  irregularity,  and 
the  season  was  productive.  The  following  table  exhibits  the  tempera- 
ture on  a  line  of  posts,  running  north  and  south  at  the  west,  during  the 
winter  months  of  1855,  and  will  illustrate  what  has  been  said. 


TABLE  VHI. 


1S55. 

JANTAKY. 

FEBEUAEY. 

MAECIL 

APEIL. 

Key  West 

67  IS 

65  ^4 

70  23 

75  09 

Mean  

66  53 

63  S3 

72  S3 

7533 

Fort  Snellin"  . 

IT  09 

I9  62 

2530 

49  86 

13  76 

17  57 

81  41 

4684 

03  55 

25  69 

8°  % 

5439 

Mean 

°1  14 

26  11 

3450 

4713 

Fort  Laramie  

gj  85 

29  01 

3641 

5-?  94 

Mean 

81  03 

82  60 

36  ^1 

47  60 

Fort  Arbuckle  

41  94 

89  86 

49.09 

67.43 

8910 

43  69 

53  22 

61  85 

Fort  Belknap  '          . 

45  Q2 

4449 

53  09 

7000 

Mean  

4'>SO 

4747 

5690 

6579 

Fort  Chadbourne 

4^  ^9 

4587 

5663 

6351 

Mean 

4429 

46  75 

53  01 

6552 

Fort  McKavitt... 

46  74 

4451 

53.66 

6705 

Mean  ... 

4475 

46  87 

5739 

6625 

Fort  Merrill 

54  51 

54  65 

61  62 

7450 

Mean  

54  82 

57.20 

6866 

73.27 

Fort  Brown  . 

60.23 

61  60 

6624 

74.93 

Mean  

60.41 

63.63 

63.95 

75.05 

Fort  Inge  

52.21 

50.63 

61  2-2 

74.43 

Mean 

4946 

5539 

62.63 

63.02 

The  return  transit  to  the  south  for  this  winter,  1855-6,  has  been 
an  extreme  one.  It  is  too  early  yet  (Feb.  1 8th)  to  write  its  history, 
but  the  extreme  southern  transit  is  as  obvious  as  the  unusual  severity 
of  the  cold.  The  raius  which  usually  fall  upon  the  Southern  States 


414  APPENDIX. 

are  precipitated  further  south  upon  the  "West  Indies,  and  threaten  a 
deterioration  of  their  sugar  crop.  The  snow,  and  cold  winds,  and  ice, 
of  the  middle  latitudes,  are  felt  even  in  Florida.  Our  sheet  of  counter- 
trade has  been  exceedingly  thin,  and  the  barometer  has  ranged,  in  fair 
weather,  much  below  the  mean.  Occasional,  and  for  a  part  of  the 
time,  -weekly  periods  of  an  increase  of  its  volume,  with  a  corresponding 
elevation  of  the  barometer,  and  a  consequent  moderation  of  the  intense 
cold,  and  a  storm,  have  occurred.  But  those  periods  have  been  few 
and  brief.  No  regular  thaw  has  yet  occurred.  From  the  26th  of 
December  to  this  date,  at  Norwalk,  there  have  been  but  two  periods 
when  the  wind  has  blown  from  the  south-west  with  sufficient  force  to 
stir  the  limbs  of  the  trees.  There  has  been  no  wind  from  south  of 
that  point,  or  east  of  north-east ;  and  even  our  storm-winds,  with  one 
exception,  have  been  north  of  north-east — owing  to  the  situation  of 
the  focus  of  precipitation  far  to  the  south  of  us — and  there  is  reason  to 
fear  that  a  cold  summer  like  those  of  1816  and  1836  may  follow.  If 
this  extreme  transit  is  owing  to  defect  in  the  influence  of  the  sun,  from 
spots,  or  other  causes,  such  will  probably  be  the  result.  If  from 
volcanic  action  at  the  south,  the  influence  of  that  action  may  cease, 
and  a  rapid  return  transit,  and  an  ordinary  season,  may  follow.  Be- 
lieving in  the  laws  of  periodicity  in  relation  to  the  weather  and  disease, 
I  planted  an  early  kind  of  corn  (the  Dutton),  in  1836,  and  had  a  crop 
when  few  around  me  succeeded.  We  must  watch  this  return  transit, 
with  hope,  indeed,  but  not  without  fear,  and  be  wise  in  time. 

There  is  a  mass  of  other  evidence  in  these  summaries  which  shows  tho 
truth  of  what  I  have  written.  There  is  not  a  deduction  of  Mr.  Blodget 
which  it  will  not  explain.  The  ascent  of  the  summer  lines  of  tempera- 
ture to  the  west  is  explained  by  the  diminution  of  magnetic  intensity. 
Their  descent  in  winter  by  the  location  and  attractions  of  the  concen- 
trated trade.  The  excess  of  precipitation  in  Alabama  and  Mississippi 
by  the  succession  of  summer  and  winter  belts.  That  of  the  interior 
of  the  Atlantic  slope  in  summer,  by  the  showers  which  fall  upon  the 
elevations  ;  and  of  the  coast,  by  the  easterly  stprms  and  their  attrac- 
tion of  the  surface  atmosphere  of  the  ocean,  at  other  seasons.  But  I 
cannot  further  particularize.  Even  the  influence  of  the  spots  is  clearly 
demonstrated  by  the  observations  at  interior  stations,  which  were  un- 
affected by  contiguous  oceans  or  elevations.  At  Forts  Washita,  Gib- 
son, Scott,  Smith,  and  others,  the  years  1847  and  1848  were  below 
the  mean.  All  that  evidence,  and  those  deductions,  however,  I  must 
pass  by  for  want  of  space,  and  take  leave  of  the  subject. 


)> 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below, 
or  on  the  date  to  which  renewed.  Renewals  only: 

Tel.  No.  642-3405 

Renewals  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  date  due. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 

Doe  end  of  Wl 


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subject  to  recall  after - 


C1R. 


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